CHAP. I.
Quhat Conscience is, and how it differis from knowledge.

BLissed is he (say is the A­postle Paull) that con­demneth not him selfe in that thing quhilk hee alloweth: Rom. 14, 22▪ For hee that doubtis, is condemnit gif he eat, becaus hee eatis not of faith: And quhatsoeuer is not of faith, is sinne. In thir wordis the Apostle countis him blissed, that is not condemnit nor accu­sit be his awin Conscience, in that thing quhilk hee dois. On the vther pairt, hee countis the man condemnit, that doub­tis quhidder that thing be gude or euill quhilk he dois: And he subjoynis the res­soun, [Page 8] becaus (say is hee) it is not done in faith, that is to say, the doer thairof is not certified be his Conscience that hee dois weill: For all that is not of faith, that is to say, all that proceidis not of ane vpricht Conscience, is sinne. Nowe, seing that this point of Conscience, is of so great im­portance, it is verry necessary that wee knowe quhat Conscience is. It wald ap­peare be the phrase of speaking, quhilke men are accustomed to vse, that Consci­ence were a certaine substance, and sub­stantial pairt of man, that subsistis be the self: Bot leist ony suld be dissaifit heirin; it is to be vnderstand, that Conscience is na mair a substance, nor the thocht, the ressoun, or the memorie; bot is onelie a function or office of the saul, like as thay are: For man consistis onely of twa sub­stantiall pairtis, to wit, the saull, and the bodie: All the rest of the pairtis of man are bot accidentis, euen qualiteis and of­fices of the body, and of the saull. Con­science then, is a perfite knawledge, or a suir perswasioun in the hairt of man, that [Page 9] his thochtis, wordis, or deidis, ar gude, or that thay ar euil. Thairfoir like as that of­fice of the saul, quhairby man dois think, imagine and apprehend thingis, is callit the thocht, or the minde: And that fun­ctioun quhairby hee discussis, and decer­nis of the thingis consauit, is callit reson or judgement: And that office of the saul quhairby the thingis apprehendit, and discussed, ar conseruit and keipit, is callit the memorie: Euin swa, that functioun and office of the saul quhairby man is certified that hee hes done, saide, or thocht that quhilk is gude, or that quhilk is euil, is callit, Conscience.

Now the difference betuix Knawledg and Conscience, may be this: First, knaw­ledge is mair generall, nor Conscience: For knawledge may bee extendit to all thingis that fallis vnder the vnderstan­ding, alsweill spirituall, as temporall and warldly thingis, and to the effairis of v­ther men. Bot Conscience is a particular knawledg quhilk every man hes of him­self, and that onlie of the thochtis, words [Page 10] and deids, quhilk he hes committit, whe­ther thay be gude or euill. As for exam­ple: I know quhat the commandementis of God ar, quhilk he hes geuin vs to keip, This cannot as ȝit be callit Conscience, for it is onlie a naked knawledge quhait na deid is done: Bot quhen I knowe that I haue brokin thir Commaundementis quhilk God hes geuin me, thair arrysis Conscience, ȝe ane euill Conscience, that is to say, ane euill knawledge of my selfe through the deid that I haif done: Again I knaw it repenteth me, that I haif violat the commandement of God, and that I beleif that Iesus Christ hes satisfy it for my offence: Heir arrysis the testimonie of a gude Conscience. Siklike, I knaw sum men that hes committit greuous sinnis: That hes nathing to do with my Consci­ence, for it is ane vther manis deid: Bot quhen I knaw that I haif committit ane haynous offence my selfe; that twichis my Conscience. Againe, I knaw, and am certainly perswadit, that Abraham wes a faithfull man and familiar with GOD: [Page 11] Neuerthelesse, this knawledg cannot be callit Conscience: Bot gif I woulde deny that, quhilk I knaw, & quhairof I am cer­tainly perswadit, in sa doing, I suld haif ane euill Conscience: For in a word, thair mon be euer a deid done, a word spoken, or a thocht consaifit, annixit, and joynit with the knawledge, to make it arrise in Conscience. The vther difference quhilk I mark betuix knawledge, and Conscience, is; that manis knawledge is mair certain, nor his Conscience sumtyme is: For that quhilk man knawis, hee either compre­hendis it with his outward senses, or vn­derstandis the causes thairof; either else hes ane sufficient authoritie and warrant for him, that it is swa: Bot at sumtyme he may haif ane euill Conscience, quhair he hes na sufficient warrant for him, saue on lie a suir perswasioun, and estimatioun within himselfe, of that thing quhilk is fals. As for example: hee that estemis it vnlauchfull to cit of every kinde of meit indifferentlie at all tymes; Gif hee not­withstanding, make na difference in ea­ting [Page 12] of every kinde of meat at all tymes; hee man haif ane euill Conscience; becaus he dois that thing quhilk hee estemis to be wrang in his hart, and in sa doing sin­neth: Neuertheles, hee can haif na suffi­cient warrand for him, to esteme it vn­lauchfull to eit of every kinde of meat in­differently at all times, seing it is fals of itselfe. To conclude, that quhilk the Lord is to lay to manis charge, and quhairof man is astrictit to rander account at the latter day of judgement, it fallis all vnder Conscience: For then every manis Con­science, sall beir him witnes, 1. Cor. 4. 5. quhat he hes done, said, thocht, or beleifit, whether it be gude, or euill, and how secreit soeuer it be, it sal be disclosed that day, quhen the counsels of all harts sal be maide o­pen and manifest.

CHAP. II.
How the word Conscience, is diversly taken: and of the divers sortes of Consciences.

VVE haif declared heirtofoir, that Conscience, is a function or of­fice of the saull, euen a knawledge, or [Page 13] suir perswasioun, quhilke man hes with himselfe, that the thing is ather gude or euill quhilk he dois, quhilk he hes done, or is of intentioun to do: As the signifi­catioun and pith of the word it self doth import: For the latine word, Conscientia, (from the quhilk the worde, Conscience cummis) is composed of the Prepositi­on, cnm, quhilk signify is in our language, with, & Scientia, quhilk signifies Science, or Knawledge; as gif wee wald say, the knawledg quhilk man hes inwartly with himselfe, of all his actiounis, wordis, and cogitations: Bot to mak the sound of the word mair agreeable, the Prepositioun cum, is changit into con, be a litle mutati­on of the letters: quhilk is a thing very frequent in the composition of wordes in the Latine tongue. This is the proper signification and originall of the worde Conscience. Neverthelesse, the Consci­ence of man, is not onely taken for the knawledg, and suir perswasion quhilk he hes with himself, as a function and office of the saull: But also, is oftymes taken for [Page 14] the saull it selfe: as may appeare be the phrases, and figuratiue kind of speaking, quhilke men are accustomit to vse. As quhen wee say, a peaceable Conscience, a remording or a byting Conscience, a wounded Conscience, a sensles Conscience and without feeling, a troubled, affli­cted, and tormented Conscience. It is eui­dent, that these Epitheits and titles, are not sa proper to Conscience, (quhilke is but a knawledg, & ane office of the saul) as thay ar to the saul it self: Thairfoir, to the effect that every thing may haue the awin proper & maist conuenient name, I wald rather say, that through the testi­monie of mans Conscience, that is, by the inward knawledge of that quhilk he hes done, ather gude or euill, the saull is made peaceabill, is made to haif remors, is woundit or tormentit: Nor, to attri­bute sik styllis vnto the Conscience. Bot forasmeikle, as the former kind of speich is commonly vsit in the scriptures, and that the offices of the spirit are oftymes taken, by a borrow it kinde of speich, for [Page 15] the sprit it selfe: I will also attribute thir titles and stylis, baith to the Conscience, and to the Saul indifferently, as thay are commonly vsit: For I esteme it salbe ve­ry easie, be that difference quhilk we haif already made, to vnderstand quhat may be properly spoken of the saull quhilk is a substance; and of the Conscience quhilk is na substance, but onely a function or work of the saull wrocht in man.

Our cheife deuision then of Consci­ence, salbe this: quhen the deide quhilk man hes done is gude of it selfe, his kno­ledge is also gude, & heir arrysis a gude and vpricht Conscience. One the vther pairt, quhen the deide done is euill, the knawledge and Conscience is likewise e­uill: In sik sort, that of the gude and righ­teous deide, proceidis the gude and vp­richt Conscience: and of the wickit and euill deid, proceidis the corruptit and e­uill Conscience: And vnder thir twa sor­tis of Consciences, gude, and euill, all the rest of the sortis are comprehendit: To wit, a peaceable Conscience, a remor­ding [Page 16] or a biting Conscience, a cauteri­zed or a sensles Conscience, a wounded Conscience, and a troublit or tormentit Conscience: Of the quhilkis speces and kindes, wee are particularlie to intreate: And first of a gude Conscience, and the diuerse kindes thairof.

CHAP. III.
Of a gude Conscience, and the diuers kinds thairof.

THe Conscience of man may bee cal­lit gude and vpricht, thre manner of wayis; First, quhen hee eschewis that quhilk is euill of it self, ather vpon knaw­ledge, or vpon a suir perswasion that the thing is euil quhilk he eschewis. Second­ly, quhen he followis that quhilk is gude and richteous of it selfe, ather knowing assuredly, or being certainlie perswadit in his hairt, that the thing is gude and richteous quhilk he dois. Thridly, quhen he ather dois, or leiffis the thing vndone that is indifferent of it selfe, that is to say, neither gude nor euill; and that vpoun [Page 17] knawledge, or vpon a suir perswasioun that the selfe same thing is indifferent quhilk hee dois, or leiffiis vndone. But quhair man, ather eschewis that quhilke is euill, or indifferent of it self: ather else follow is that quhilk is richteous, or in­different, vpon ignorance, or vpon acci­dent: Thair can be na testimony of a gud Conscience thair: For that quhilk is done vpon ignorance, is opponit vnto that quhilk is done vpon knawledge, quhair­upon Conscience mon proceide. In sik sort, that to mak the testimonie of manis Conscience, gude, baith the deede quhilk he dois mon be gude of it selfe, or at the leist indifferent, & the doer thairof mon ather knaw perfytlie, or haif a suir per­swasion in his hart that the thing is gude or at leist, indifferent quhilk he dois. The difference quhilk I make betwixt knaw­ledge, and a suir perswasion, is this: that knawledg is groundit vpon a suir autho­ritie, and warrand▪ out of the worde of God: and that suir perswasion, is onely a constant opinioun consauit in manis [Page 18] hairt, that a thing is sa, or not sa, without ony certaine warrand: Bot foralsmeikle, as mans Conscience can nather beir wit­nes with him, nor aganis him, but accor­ding to mans awin knawledge and vnder standing: hee suld beware that he lippin not ouer meikle in the testimonie of his awin Conscience: For albeit, al that man dois aganis his awin Conscience be sinn: Neuertheles, all that is done according to Conscience, is not gude and without sinne: In respect that mans Conscience, will oftymes certefie him, that the deede quhilk he dois, is gude of it selfe, quhen it is euil: And be the contrair, that the deed quhilk he hes done is euil of it self, quhen it is gude and richteous. As for example the Iewis quhen thay crucify it our Savi­our Iesus Christ, were perswadit in their Conscience, that thay had not crucified the Sonne of God; and ȝit thay were dis­saifit: Sicklyk, na doubt but some of the Papists are certefy it be thair awin Con­science, that thay do wel in making thair supplications vnto the sauls of the saints [Page 19] departit; and ȝit thay are dissauit be thair Conscience. Heirfoir, seing the testemo­nie of mans Conscience, is oftymes dissa­uabill and fals: In the thingis, quhairby the doing, or not doing of thame, may follow sin; hee aucht to haif his warrand out of the word of God, and not to con­fide in the testimony of his Conscience. Notwithstanding, in thingis indifferent; as to marrie, or leif vnmarried: to weare costly apparell on the Sabboth day, or not to weare it: to vse, or not to vse mo­derate exercitioun of the bodie; or til eat meat with weschen or vnweschin hands: In doing of thir and siklike thingis, a suir perswasion of thame, that thay ar things indifferent, is sufficient to saif man from sinne, without ony farther warrant: But hee that doubtis whether hee haif done weill or euill in following, or eschewing ony thing, albeit the thing be indifferent of it self, ȝit he sinnis: becaus hee hes na testimonie nor assurance of his Consci­ence for that quhilk he dois, quhilk every man aucht to haif in all his actions.

[Page 20] As concerning the nature and quali­ties of a gude Conscience; It wilbe peace­abill, it will sometimes haue remorse, & sometimes it wil be woundit & troublit. Mans Conscience may be callit peacea­bill, twa manner of wayis: The ane is, quhen his Conscience giffis him rest, and accusis him not, but allowis and appre­vis all that hee dois, as weill done. This kind of peace is not onely proper to the gude Conscience, and weill doer, but also to the euill Conscience and euil doer: For he that committis wickitnes ather vpon ignorance, or vpon a perswasion that he dois well; or hee that hes the hart harde­ned, and is not mouit nor troublit with the euill quhilk hee dois; that man (I say) will haif sum tyme peace of Conscience for a time: although in the end, the accu­sation and torment of his Conscience wil be horrible and great. In consideration whereof, it wald bee diligently marked, that mans Conscience. dois not alwaies accuse, nor trouble him, sa sone as the sin and wickitnes is committit: Na, na, he wil [Page 21] haue inward peace of minde for a time, his Conscience will flatter him, the eies of his minde wil be blindit, and his hart will be shut vp: during the quhilke tyme his Conscience will be peaceabill, he will haif inward rest of the minde, and lief in careles securitie: Bot quhen the lord be­gins to chop, to appeall the Conscience, & to open the eies of the hairt, that man may see the vglines of his awin sin: Then begins the Conscience to accuse, to con­demne, and to torment man with terribil prickis, with fearfull terrors, and intolle­rable paine. Thairfoir, quhen this kinde of peace proceidis from knawledge, that is, quhen man hes asuir warrand of the word of God for that quhilk he dois, then is it gude, and the Conscience vpricht: But quhair it lacketh that warrand of Gods worde, it is dangerous, & not to be lipnit in: For as I haif said, the wickit mans Con­science will flatter him, and beare him false witnesse, quhairby he wil haif peace and rest for a time. The vther kinde of peace is, quhen after greate trouble of [Page 22] the spreit and Conscience, through the sicht of mans sinne▪ and of the wrath of God aganis sinne; man obtainis inward peace and rest of his Conscience, by ap­prehending mercy throgh Iesus Christ, and by the assurance quhilk the spreit of God giues to the spreit of man, that his sinnes ar forgiuen him. This is the true peace of Conscience, and is onely proper to the chosen children of God.

Mairouer, the gude Conscience will remord and bite: that is to say, it will oft­times call to remembrance the sinnes, quhilk man hes committit, and will ac­cuse, and prick him with an inward pain thairfoir: This remorse and byting, is al­so a quality that is common, baith to the gude and euill Conscience: Bot the diffe­rence betwixt the remorse of the godly and of the wickit, is notable and greate: For that remorse quhilk the godly hath, bringis a godly dolour with it for the sin committit, makes man to seik the reme­die of the inward prick and paine quhilk he hes, even to humble himself befoir his [Page 23] God by earnest repentance, and fervent praier, quhairby hee findes releefe and comfort: But the wickit man, albeit hee haue the remorse and paine of his Con­science: Neverthelesse, hee is not mouit with ony godly sorrowe, neither seiks he the remedie for the paine, nor ressauis ony releif or comfort from aboue. Heir­fore I mon say, that the remorse and by­ting, is the qualitie of a gude Conscience: I say not, that the deede is gude, quhilk makis man to haue remorse of Consci­ence, for that is sinne: But I say, that to haue remorse of Conscience for the sinne, it is gude, and is proper to the children of God: For, without remorse thair can be no repentance: And seeing that the fragilitie of mans nature is so great, that he can not abstaine from sinne so long as he is in this life, ȝe the maist just & vp­richt man fallis oftymes euery day; and the estait of a true Christians life, is but a continual falling and arrysing: It is maist necessary that the Conscience of man be exercisit with a frequent remorse: For as [Page 24] I haue saide, without it, repentance can not be, & it makes man to seik the reme­die, and to finde releif and heauenly con­solatioun.

Finally, the gude Conscience will be sometime wounded, and troubled: and whereby? euen by the commemoration and consideration of the sinnes quhilke man hes committed: Ȝe not onely the conscience, but also the spreit and saull, and all the functions thairof, and the hail estait of the richteous man, by the sicht of sinn will be sair vexit and troublit. But meikill mair the spreit and saull of the wickit man, through the sicht of sin will be tormentit, considdering that the same turnis in the end, to his vtter confusion: Quhairas the trouble of the richteous saull salbe turned into glaidnes, and re­dound to aeternall saluation: But of this trouble of the spreit and Conscience, wee sall heirefter intreat mair at large.

CHAP. IIII.
Of ane euill Conscience, the diuers kindes, and qualities thairof.

LIke as of weill doing, arysis the testi­monie of a gude Conscience: euen sa of euill doing, arysis ane euill Consci­ence: For looke where sin, in any forme is committed; either in thocht, word or deid; whether sa it be wittingly, on igno­rance, on rashnes, or on set purpose: Of force thair mon be ane euill Conscience, ane euill knawledge thair: And as thair is degrees of sinnes; euen sa is there de­grees of Consciences: For the fewar, and of lesse waight the sinnes be, the better is the Conscience of him that committeth them: And the main number, or mair grieuous the sinne be, the worse is the Conscience, of the committar. Nowe, of the sins whereby the Conscience of man is woundit and made euill: There is a sin quhilk may be committed aganis knaw­ledge: A sinne according to knawledge, and a sinne done vpon ignorance. Al thir [Page 26] three kindes of sinnes are accessorie, and annexit to ane euill Conscience. As to the first, quhen man knawis, or is suirly perswadit with himselfe, quhat is wrang, and ȝit dois it: And quhat is richt, and ȝit leifis it vndone; he then sinnis aganis his awin knawledge: and this is a high degre of sin; and the worst kinde of Conscience, quhilk is guiltie of wilfull errour: In sik sort, that albeit the deid be gude, or indif­ferent of it selfe, If man esteeme, and be perswadit in his hairt that it is euill, and ȝit dois it: It is euill to him, and in doing thairof he sinnis and offendis: For all that is done aganis knawledge, or aganis the thinking and perswasion of the hairt, is sinne. The second sort of sinne is, quhilk is not done directly aganis knawledge, but rather according to knawledge, and ȝit it is sinne; and at length producis e­uer the testimonie of ane euill Consci­ence: As quhen man dois that quhilk is euill of it selfe, vpon a false trust and per­swasion that he dois weill: or quhen hee dois that quhilk is vnjust, vpon a gude [Page 27] intentioun, to the effect that gude may come of it. This is also ane euill Consci­ence, quhilk flatters man in his awin sin: And thou (O man) that vsis sik a forme of doing, thy Conscience quhilk flatters thee nowe, sall ane day accuse and con­demne thee for leaning sa meikil to thy awin waik wit and deceauable opinion. Bot you wil object and say, that thy Con­science mouis thee so to do, being suirly perswadit in thy hairt, of thy well doing; Indeede I ȝeild vnto thee, that in doing the things quhilk are gude, or at the leist indifferent of them selues, a sure perswa­sion that thou dois na wrong, may be a sufficient warrant to thee: But in those things quhairby the doing or omitting of them, the Majestie of God may be of­fended, thy vaine perswasions and false witnes of thy flattering Conscience, can be no defence nor warrant vnto the: For in all thinges quhilk may import sinne, thou aucht to haue the authoritie of the word, & command of God for thy war­rant. Siklike wilt thou (O foolish man) [Page 28] do euill that gude may come of it? I pray thee tell me, where hes thou sik a com­mandment giuen thee of God? or thinks thou, that thou maist transgresse the or­dinance of the most high, either by do­ing that quhilk he hes forbidden thee to do, or by leauing that vndone quhilk he hes commandit thee to do; & then cloke thy sinne with thy intention, by saying, that thou did al for the best, that thy pur­pose and intention was gude, and that man is iudged according to his intenti­on? Na, na, thy intention sall be na rele­uant defence vnto thee, in that respect: For thou perverts that gude sentence. I graunt, where thy intention agreis with the will of God, quhen thou intends, and endevours thy self to please God, and to keep his Commandements: The Lord, for his sone Iesus Christs sake, wil accept thy gude intention, and be well pleased with the gude affection of thy heart, al­beit (throw thy awin fragilitie, or vther externall impediments) thou neuer exe­cute nor performe thy intentioun. But [Page 29] quhair thy actions are repugnant to the ordinance of God, of necessitie thy zeale mon be blind, & thy intention euil, how gude soeuer it appeir in thine awin eies: neither sal it serue for a lawful excuse vn­to thee, but for a point of dittay to con­demne thee, in the day of the Lords rich­teous judgement: For when the Lord sal lay downe his Law, as a rule before thee, sall open the blinded eies of thy heart, & appeale thy Conscience: Thou sall then know, and confesse, that the Lord suld be served according to his holy statutes & commandements, and not according to thy foolish braine and conceits, nor ȝit after the traditions of men. The thrid sorte of sinne, quhairby the Conscience of man is damnifyit & hurt, is nether com­mittit aganis knawledge, nor ȝit vpon a perswasion and pretence of weil doing: But is done on mere stupiditie and igno­rance. As when man either is in doute, whether the thing be gude or euill, that he dois: ather els is altogidder negligent and careles quhat he dois; nocht taking [Page 30] heed, nor trying whether his actions be just, or vnjust. Heir it wald appeare, that this kinde of sinne can nocht touch the Conscience: In respect, that Conscience is a knawledge of a deid done; but ignorance is opponit to knawledge; and therefore cannot concerne, nor corrupt the Consci­ence. The trueth is, that all kinde of sinne infects the Conscience and saull of man: And seeing that all iniquitie done vpon ignorance, is sin: For neither ignorance negligence, rashnes, nor waiknes, can be a just defence and excuse to sinne: Thair­fore, it mon follow, that sinne committit vpon ignorance, corrupts and infects the saull and Conscience. Mairouer, albeit the wicked man wil be sumtime careles, and ignorant of the qualitie of his deedes, whether thay be gude or euil, and sa wil haue peace of Conscience for a season: Ne­vertheles, hee cannot be ignorant quhat he hes done, at the time when the fact is committed: Yea, although he were baith forgetfull quhat he had done, and igno­rant of the qualitie of the deid: ȝit quhen [Page 31] it sall please the Lord to knocke at the doore of his Conscience, and to illuminate his dull vnderstanding: he sal then baith haue his deids recent in memory, & sall clearlie vnderstand, that thay ar euil and wicked, quhairvpon his awin Conscience sall beir witnes against him. Heirfore, to sinne vpon ignorance, It is a dangerous thing. For wee aucht neither to be igno­rant, nor to doubt of the qualitie of our actiouns; but suld haue assurance of our Consciences for all that we do; & our Con­sciences the assurance of Gods word: The quhilk assurance all men may haue, that delights to bee exercised in the Lawe of the Lord: For this is maist certaine, that there is nathing quhilk may serue to the salvation of man, but it is reveiled by the word of God, and set downe in the scrip­tures: And all that the Lord hath com­manded vs to do, is gude and richteous: All that he hes defendit, and forbidden, is euill and wicked: And all that is not in­hibit and forbidden be the word of God, may be saifly done without sinne or of­fence: [Page 32] providing, that man do it vppon knawledge, & doubt not of his awin do­ing. Thus then we see, that by these di­uers kindes of sinnes, the Conscience, and saull of man is infected and corrupted: And by the sicht & consideration thair­of, is grievously wounded; quhairvpon there arrysis a great remors, and trouble, in the spreit and Conscience: For quhen it pleaseth the Lord to let man see the vg­lines of his own sinne, his Conscience then beginnes to accuse him, and to byte like a worme, inwardly in the heart: and for that cause is callit, a biting or remording Conscience: The quhilk remorse, gnaw­ing, and biting, is perpetuall in the wic­ked, that hes not the grace to seik the re­medie, as it was in Cain: But in the chil­dren of God it is temporall onely, and is cured and taken away with blenks of he­uenly comforte. Againe, the perversed Conscience that is opponit vnto this, is not mooued with remorse, for any wic­kednes that man can commit: But as the flesh is persed and burnt vp with the cau­taire [Page 33] quhilk the Chirurgien dois apply, 1. Tim. 4. 2. and is thereby made sensles and without feeling: Euin sa the Conscience is infected with sin, and ȝit hes na sense nor feeling thairof: and therfore it is called, a caute­rized, brunt vp, or sensles Conscience. This proceidis from ane obdured, obstinate, and hardened heart; quhilk continues in this obstinacie and blindnes, ay & quhill the Lord in his fearefull judgement, be­gins to strike the saul and Conscience with terrible terrours and torment: The form and maner quhairof, we haue nixt (be the grace of God) to declare.

CHAP. V.
Of the troubled spirit and conscience, and how it differs from melancholie, from vther naturall diseases, and warldly sorrowis.

THe Spirit of man, and every functi­on of the spirit (either the imaginati­on, the reasoun, the judgement, or the memory) may be divers & sindrie waies damnified and troubled: Some tyme by naturall sicknes and diseases, sometime [Page 34] by naturall melancholie and euill dispo­sition of the body, sometime by contra­cted melancholie, quhilk man apprehendeth through sorrowe and care of warld­ly thingis, sometime by the exterior lei­sion of the partes of the head, quhilk are called, the seats of these functions: And sometime through sudden and extreame feare, loue, joy, or vther sicklyke passions of the minde. Al the quhilk thingis, are obserued by the mediciners and chirur­giens, & in thair warkis ar aboundantlie set furth. Yea sometime the Lord by his immediate power, wil abstract the judg­ment, the memorie, or vther offices of the spirit, & wil strike man with frensie, with madnes, or forgetfulnes; & restore them againe at his pleasure. But the tro­ble of mans Conscience, is farre different from any of these troubles: quhilk is ob­serued for the maist pairt, to arrise after this maner. Quhen it pleisis the Lord at any time, to shewe his angry face, and to rebuke man for sin, incontinent man is striken with sudden feare and tremb­ling, [Page 35] and begins to call to remembrance quhat sins he hes committit, and quhair­in he hes offendit his God: Ȝea, the Lord will object his sinnes clearlie before his eies, albeit they haue bene neuer sa lang buried & forgot with man: Quhilk quhen he remembers, seeth the vglines thairof; is accusit by his awin Conscience, & feillis the fearce wrath of God kindled against him for his sinne; his spirit and Conscience is marvellouslie troubled, and is sudden­lie oppressed, with extreame paine and torment: In sik sort, that the trouble of the spirit wil oftimes redound to the bo­die, and trouble the whole estate of man; as thogh he were takin with sum agonie, or sharp fevar. It is true, that every man whome the Lord so visits, will not bee alike sore troubled and tormented; But sum in a higher, sum in a lower degrie, according to the modificatioun of the Lord: But hee that hes the feeling of his awin sinne, and of the wrath of God aga­nis his sinne, in the highest degrie; that man sall see nathing but the angrie face [Page 36] of God, burning like a consuming fire a­gainst him, and sal think na vther thing, but that the Lord in his just judgement hes castin him away, out from his pre­sence & kingdom: Quhilk of al torments, that man can suffer in this life, is the gre­test. This kinde of trouble that proceids from the Conscience, seemis sa strange & difficil to natural and warldly men, that thay can hardly consaue it, but takes it e­uer vp wrang: and estiems those persons that are so troubled, either to be furious, lunatick, or fantastick: either els to haue taken sum apprehension, melancholie, or vaine conceit: Ȝea, not onely appeirs it hard vnto them, but also to the very Children of God, vnlesse they haue ei­ther had some taisting of it them selues, or else haue bene wel instructed therein, by sik as hes had the liuely experience thairof: As it is na wonder that flesh and blude vnderstand it not: For it is a great mysterie, and a woonderfull wark of the maist high, quhilk by natural reason, can not be comprehended. But as I haue said [Page 37] before, the difference betuix the trouble of the conscience, & vther troubles, is no­table and great. For the diseases before rehearsed are naturall; the disease of the Conscience, supernaturall. The natural dis­eases proceids from the euill constituti­on and disposition of mans body, and his warldly sorrow, and wanrest from the so­licitude & care quhilk he hes of warldly things: But the wanrest and anxietie of the conscience, proceids from the sicht & consideration of mans sinne. Mairouer, we see that the natural diseases of the bo­die may be cured, by vsing of naturall re­medies: sicknes may be healed, by the ap­plication of salutaire medicaments: The melancholious humors may be purged, and the body brought to a gude tempe­rature and constitution: But all the Phisi­tians, and all the natural medecine vnder heauen, can na mair remeid the woundit conscience, nor corporall meat and drinke can nourish the saul; or naked words can satisfie the hunger & thirst of the body. Siklike, the displesure and sorrow quhilk [Page 38] man contracts, either through the losse, or through the care and desire of earthly things; wil either, through tract of tyme vanish away, quhair thingis lost cannot be recouered; or be turned into joy and contentment, quhen hee obtaineth the things that he disired; whether sa it be ri­ches, promotion, or victory over his enemies: But all the riches, honour, and ple­sures of the warld, wil never releeue the paine of a tormented conscience; (vnles it befor a very short space) while inwarde comfort be given of the comforter, the haly Ghost. I deny not but that the Lord will sometime vse outward affliction, as a means quhairby hee will cause man to call his sinnes to remembrance, & con­sequently, wil make his awin conscience to condemne and torment him: But the saule and conscience beeing once deeply woundit; na worldlie consolation, nor earthlie remedie can avail: while the spi­rite of God worke first inwardly in the heart. Farther, it is to be vnderstand, that not onelie the wicked and reprobate are [Page 39] accustomed to haue this trouble & prick of conscience: But also the very chosen children of God, yea his dearest servants hes euer bene, and ȝit are, maist subject to the feiling of thair awin sin and weak­nes: Quhairby thay wil be sometimes re­duced to sik extremitie, that thair faith wil be altogether smored for a season, & thay brocht to the very brinke, and bor­dour of desperation. Notwithstanding, al their sufferings, in the end redounds to their eternall joy and salvation: Quhair by the contrair, the troubles of the wic­ked, turnis at last to their vtter wrack and confusion: For albeit the Lord, to trie & to humble his awin, & to let them knaw thair awin infirmities, wil sumty me hide his face for a litle season, and couer them as it wer, with a cloud: during the quhilk space, they wil be in greit anguish & perplexitie, overshadowed with heavines & darknes, like the Moone ecclipsed, & pri­uate of the licht of the Sunne: Neverthe­lesse, in the middes of thair miseries, he wil edge by the cloude, and shewe thame [Page 40] blenks of mercy, of comfort, and of licht: and at last will turne his louing counte­nance againe, and driue away al the darknes, and heavines of thair sauls, and illu­minat them with eternal licht, and glad­nes. To conclude, I wil say this meikle farther, That there is nane whome the Lord hes predestinat to salvation, quhilk sal not, at sum time of thair life, be trou­bled, and tormented in some measure (though not all equallie) in thair saull & conscience, throgh the sicht of thair awin sinne: For this is certaine, that we cannot enter into the kingdome of God, except we first suffer, and abide tryall: It is not possible, that wee can be exalted with e­uerlasting exaltation, except wee be first casten downe and brocht lowe: It is not possible, that we can be partakers of eter­nall glory and gladnes in the heuen with Christ, vnles wee be first participant of paine with Christ, and feill with him, in some mesure, the torments of hel in our sauls and Consciences. Thairfore, let eve­ry ane of vs make vs for it, and prepare [Page 41] our selues for the day of trial and temp­tation: Let vs turne in time to God, by earnest repentance, and amendement of life, before he strike vs in his judgement: Let vs alwaies flee sinn, and follow rich­teousnes, that in the day of trial the accu­sation of our Conscience may be the lesse feareful: And aboue all things, let vs ap­prehend Iesus Christ crucified for our sinne, with a true and a liuely faith: For if we once constantly beleeue that; wee may be assured, that how low soeuer we be brocht, howe extreame soeuer our paine and torment be, ȝit the issue thair­of salbe happie, & our deliverance joiful.

CHAP. VI.
The marks quhairby the woundit consci­ence may be knawin.

QVhair the saul & Conscience is woun­ded and oppressed, through the sicht of sinne, and through the feeling of Gods wrath against man for sinne; there is na quietnes nor contentment there: [Page 42] For, howe can there be any rest, or dele­ctation, quhair man hes a feiling of Gods wrath kindled aganis him, and is perswa­ded in his heart, that hee is out of the fa­vour of God? Na, na, sa lang as hee is in that estate, there is nathing for him but wanrest, nathing but feare, sorrowe, lan­guishing, wearines, heavines, darknes, & paine, baith within, and without. In sik sort, that if there were not intermissioun, at some time, of the torment, the bodie were not able to sustaine it: For the saul and the bodie being joyned together by a perfite vnion, The vexation of the saul extendis to the body, quhilk hes a com­passion and a suffering together with the saull. Quhairvpon it followis, that hee quha is troubled in spirit and Conscience, wil be bereft of all naturall rest, though vtherwaies he be hail baith in body and spirit, and that nature vse al the right of­fices; ȝit the Conscience being wounded, the trouble thairof, sall bereif man the nichts sleep: his slumbrings wil be short, and encombred with vglie dreames: his [Page 43] waiknings wil be triste, & his body com­moved with heit and beitting, as though he were in a fiever: and his sins wil come oft in mind, quhilk on na wise hee can es­chewe, nor forget. Siklike, the meat and drink will be lothsome vnto him: neither wil he delight meikil in any warldly ple­sure: But all earthly recreation wil bee mair fashious, nor delectable vnto him: Ȝea it wil appeare to himselfe, that al the creatures of God are animate, as it were, and conspired against him. Nevertheles, the inclination and behavior of the wic­ked man, beeing visited by the hande of God, wil be far different from the beha­uiour of the godly: For the wicked man wil be mair sorrowful for his awin wan­rest, and paine, nor for his sinne, quhairby hee hes offendit the majestie of God. He wil also blame the instrumentall causes of his trouble, mair nor himselfe: and wil seeke vnlawful meanes to bee releifed of his paine; sometime labouring to delait it out of his mind, by giuing himselfe to warldly pleasures, and vsing of wanton [Page 44] and riotous companie: sometyme by re­venging himselfe on them whome he e­stiems to be the instrumental causes of his trouble: and sometime by consulting with sorcerers, and seeking responces of vncleane sprits. To be short, he hes euer a looking back to the warld; and if he get any releif of his paine, incontinent he re­turnis to his former impietie, like a sowe to the puddle, and heaps sinne vpon sin, quhairby his conscience is mair and mair wounded, and his paine thereafter incre­sed: Quhil at the last, hee fallis in vtter despair; and ather puts violent hands in himselfe, as Iudas did; or els is perpetual­ly tormented with the worme of his con­science, as Cain was, during his whole life tyme. By the contrair, the Childe of God, quhen he feels the correctioun of his Maker, and is accused by his awin conscience, he is immediatly taken with a godly sorrow for his sinne, and hes a see­king to God for mercie and releif. Not­withstanding, hee wil finde in himselfe a great inconstancie, & waiknes: For some [Page 45] tyme he wil be ouerset with sadnes, and in ane instant wil be changed, quhairof he cannot render a reason, but as the spi­rit mouis him: Sometyme, he wil be fer­vent in praier, sometime cold and remit­ted: Sometime, he wil pray formally and weil, sometime informally, being inter­rupted with teares, Psalme 77. 4. or with wauering thochts: ȝea, sometime he wil be sa con­fused, that hee cannot pray, but wil vtter his passions with grones, with sichis, & with sobbes. Attoure, hee wil haue ane earnest desire to heare the word of God preached, or red; and wil think it marve­lous comfortable and sweit: and when he heares any part thereof that touchis him selfe, whether sa it be the description of his miserie, or the gracious promises, & mercies of the Lord rehearsed; he wil re­joice exceidingly, and partly for joy of the gudnes of God, and partly for griefe of his awin fal, and vnthankfulnes to­wards his Creator; he wil oftymes burst out with teares in aboundance. Besides this, the wounded conscience may not a­bide [Page 46] to heare any cursed or prophane speaking: or to heare the name of God in any waies blaspheamed, meikil les wil he do it himselfe, For hee is taken with a great fear to offend the majestie of God, hauing alredy felt the stroke of his hand. Siklike, the leist offence quhilk hee can commit, wil appear to him to be of gret grauitie & waight: For like as the wound of the body wil be sa sair, that the patient can scarselie suffer any thing to touch it: Even so, the woundit conscience is sa waik that the lest vnseemly word, wrang luke, or wauering thocht quhilk man can vse, wil hurt and trouble it, and make it to re­mord. Finally, when the oppressed con­science gets any blenk of comfort, or re­lease of his paine; he wil spring for joye, and think that he sal neuer again be mo­ued with sik perturbation: Bot sa sone as the Lord turnis away his face, newe tro­ble and doubtings wil arrise againe, as though he had never receiued comfort. And that quhilk is admirable, & a won­derful wark of Gods spirit; at sometyme [Page 47] the remembrance of a sinne, or of a deed done, wil sa trouble man, that he cannot be comforted: And at ane vther time the commemoration and sicht of that same sin, wil na mair moue him, nor gif it had neuer bene committed. This appearant­ly proceedis in the wicked, from a harde­ned and obdured heart: But in the faith­ful, from the assurance of the holy spirit, that the sinne is forgiuen, and that mer­cie is graunted through Iesus Christ.

This meikle I thocht necessary to write, concerning the discouerie of a wounded Conscience: To the effect, that the disease being discovered, the remedie may bee the mair easilie found out, and skilfullie applied to the same.

CHAP. VII.
The remedie of the troubled spirite and Conscience.

ART thou troubled (O man or wo­man) in thy spirite and Conscience? Then I wald exhort thee, in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ, to enter into this [Page 48] meditation and thinking with thy selfe. I perceiue the Lord is mindful of me, & hes visited me: For I feel my self inward­ly touched: The Lord knocks at the dore of my Conscience▪ but quhat his will is, or quhat wark he is to wark in me, I knawe not: howsoever it be, this is doubtles the day of temptation, and the time of my trial: so that my estate is dangerous: For I knaw, that the sprit and image of Satan wil striue in me; aganis the sprit & image of God: and if I harken not to the Lords cal, but ȝeild vnto the sprit of Satan, I am but lost. Thairfore, I beseik the Lord to be on my side, and to assist me with his haly spreit in this perrellous battel, that I may stand fast, and submit my self whol­lie to his haly wil. This done, prepare thy selfe for the tryal, by fasting and ab­stenance, from the sensual lustes of the flesh: For thairby thou sal be meikle ea­sed of thy paine, and sal baith be better disposed to serue thy God, and be made a mair meet subject to the spreit of God to wark in. Being humbled & prepared, [Page 49] first of all clenge thy heart & Conscience: For, gif thou present thy selfe before the Lord with a polluted heart, and corrup­ted Conscience; Al that you can do or say, wil be but abhomination vnto him; and he will nather regard thy praiers, nor ac­cept any seruice at thy hands; Deut. 4. 24 Heb. 12. 29 But wil ra­ther be a consuming fire redie to destroy thee. Thairfore, let the maner of thy clenging be this: Enter in sharp trial and ex­amination of thy life and conversation, from thy youth vp: Cal to remembrance quhat kinde of vice or vices hes greatest dominion in thee; and quhat offences thou hes committed from time to time, either against God or thy Neighbour: This do, not only at a time, but at divers and sundrie times: For thou wilt remem­ber at ane time, that quhilk thou can not do at ane vther: Quhilk if thou examine narrowlie, not flattering thy self, I doubt not, but thou sal find thy sinnes vglie y­nough, and of ane hudge number: Ȝea, it may be, that the memory and considera­tion of them humble thee very farre, and [Page 50] make thee baith to abhorre them, & thy selfe, that suld haue committed sik abho­minations. Having nowe ryppit vp thy sinne, quhilk is the fountain of al thy mi­sery; thou hes nixt to turne thee with thy hail heart to the Lord, seeking help and releif at his hands, quha is onely able to deliuer thee. But howe sal I turne (may thou say) to the Lord? for I knaw not the way. Surely, the lord hes taught the way, how a sinner sall turne vnto him: Mat. 4. 17. To wit, even by earnest & vnfained repentance; Acts. 2. 38. and by a true and liuely faith in the mer­cies of God, Iere. 41. & 6. 16. through the death of Iesus Christ. As to the forme of thy repen­tance, let it be this: Cast downe thy selfe on thy face and knees before thy God, & with a broken heart; First, confesse thy sinnes freely vnto him, without hypocri­sie, howe secreit or abhominable soeuer they be: For if thou dissemble, or meane to hide any thing fra him, that knawis the leist hirne of thy heart; Iere. 11. 20 thy labour is al in vaine; and thou but provokes his in­dignation mair and mair against thee. [Page 51] Secondly, thou mon be sorrowfull in thy heart for thy sinne: For except thou be displeased with thy self, that thou hes of­fended thy gude God; think not that thy offences sal be forgiuen: neither sal it suf­fise to say, that it repenteth thee of the e­uil quhilk thou hes done; vnles thou rew in very deid: For the Lord that is the sear­cher of the hart, 1. Sam. 16. 7. knawis quhat thou dois think, albeit thy sayings be never sa gud. Thairfore, beware that thou vse na dissi­mulation with him, leist for thine hypo­crisie he confound thee. Thirdly, amend thy life in times cumming, by abstaining not onely from the sinnes, quhairvnto thou hes bene maist addicted: But also, from al vther kind of sinne: and, be doing that quhilk is gude and acceptable in the sicht of the Lord: For, this is the fruit of repentance. So, that he quhilk sayis hee repents, and amends not his life in some measure, but continues in his former wickednes; hee is a lyar, and the spreit of God is not in him. But foralsmeikle as al sinne, is either committed aganis God [Page 52] onlie, and the first table of his Lawe: ei­ther else aganis man, and the second ta­ble: Thou aucht diligently to mark baith the ane and the vther, that is maist ryfe in thee, & that sorest pricks thy Conscience. Al sinne is aganis God, but al sinn is not aganis man: Thou may also offend God by thine euil thocht, because hee knawis thy thocht: But be thy thocht man can­not be offended, becaus he knawis it not. If then thy sin be aganis God only, thou hes God only to satisfie, by acknowledg­ing thy sinne, by sorrowing for thy sinn, by imploring mercie for thy sinne, and by refraining thy selfe thereafter from that sinn. But if thou haue sinned aganis man, by offending him in word or deed; either in body, goods, or name: In that cace, thou mon baith craue pardone at the hands of God, and trauel by al means possible to be reconciled with man: Ȝea, except thou first endevoure thy selfe, sa far as in thee lyis, to satisfie man whome thou hes sa offended; assure thy self, that God wil not be satisfied in the▪ Hes thou [Page 53] made a godly vowe to the Lord, quhilk thou hes not performed? Performe thy godly vowe (if it be possible) vnto him: Hes thou made a lawful promise vnto man, quhilk thou hes not keeped? Fulfil thy promise if it be possible, albeit it be to thy losse. Be not ashamed to addresse thy selfe to him, quhome thou hes offen­ded, althogh he be thy inferiour, & craue pardone of him for thine offence: And looke quhat satisfactioun hee can justly craue of thee, either in wordes, in gudes, or vther kind of deid; See thou be willing to make it, according to thy power: That thou may obtaine peace of Conscience; & that the cries of the oppressed saul quhilk sustaines bitternes & wrong, ascend not to the Lord, and procure his vengeance against thee. Farther, quhasoeuer hes of­fended thee, thou mon forgiue thame thair offences freely: That the Lord may also forgiue thee thine offences: But gif thou forgiue not men thair trespasses, Mat. 6. 15 Iesus Christ certifies thee, that thy hea­uenly Father wil na mair forgiue thee [Page 54] thy trespasses. Finally, thou mon re­nounce thy corrupted affections, & eve­ry thing that withhalds thee from God, howe deare and precious soeuer it be in thine eies: Root out thy vices, ane by ane out of thy heart, quhilk hes had sa lang dominion ouer thee: And in every thing do that quhilk thou knawis to be the wil of God: Setting aside thine awin wil, and remouing al warldly respects, and impe­diments quhatsoeuer; howe vnapeirand, or far repugnant soeuer it be, to the na­tural inclination of thy heart: That the Lord may be weil pleased with thee, and that thou may haue the testimonie of a gude Conscience. O! But these are harde sayings to flesh and blude, and here sal a­rise a strong battell within thee, quhen thou art this waies tried with the renun­ciation of thy awin wil, and affectiouns; and vrged to doe that quhilk is contrary to thy manly hart: For oftymes wil thou think with thy selfe: Sall I forgiue him, that hes done me sik wrang, and craueth na pardon of me? Sal I suffer this of him? [Page 55] Sal I not be revenged of this injurie, and on him with whome I am sa far behind? Siklike, quhen it commeth to the renun­cing of the affections of thy hart, quhilk thou hes followed & served sa lang; and of that domestick Idole, quhilk thou and every man hes erected in the heart: whe­ther sa it be, the lusts and plesures of the flesh, warldly honours and vaine glorie, couetousnes of warldly gudes, the desire of revenge, or vther quhatsumeuer vice, quhairunto thou art cheifly bound in seruitude: That conflict (I say) wilbe felon, and that departing difficil: For the spreit of the deuil, and the naturall corruption of thine awin heart, wil striue michtelie aganis the spreit of God, and the regene­rate part of thy saul, if any be: Swa that thou sal make many shifts and excuses to satisfie thy a win wil and appetite, to ful­fill the desire of thy heart, and to retaine that Idole, quhilk like a bond-slaue, thou serues and adores. Yea, the young riche man, Mat. 19. 21. quhome Christ bad sell al that hee had, giue it to the poore, and folow him; [Page 56] made neuer greater mourning, nor the natural man wil make to quyte his Idol, the strongest affection of his hart, quhairvnto he is thrall: For the deuil was neuer lother to come out of the person whom he possesseth, nor naturall vices wilbe to come out of mans hart, where thay haue once taken deepe root. Bot thou, O man that art inwardly touched! may knawe quhairon it stands: either mon thou for­giue man, Deu. 32. 35 and remit the revenge to God (to whome vengeance apertaineth) and to his lieutenants whom he hes appoin­ted to execute justice vpon earth: or else looke not to be forgiuen of thy heauen­ly Father, Mat. 6. 15 nor to be releeved of thy pre­sent trouble. Luke 9. 23. In like manner, either mon thou renounce al thy wicked affections quhatsumeuer, and reforme thame, in some measure: or else renounce thy part of the kingdome of heauen. This meikle concerning the turning to God, by re­pentance and amendement of life▪ nixt followis, the turning to God by faith.

Hes thou tried thy warks, and turned to [Page 57] God by earnest repentance, and with a resolute mind to amend thy life in times comming? Now try likewaies thy faith, & take diligent heed, whether it be waik, wauering, and ful of doubting or not: & whether it agrees with the true, haly, ca­tholik, and apostolike faith, or not: and where thou findes it deficient in any of these points, turn with speid to the Lord, and embrace him with a true and a liue­lie faith: For without faith, al thy repen­tance, and all thy gude warks cannot a­vail a whit; but ar like a filthie menstrous clout in the sicht of the Lord. There is many men that wil take heede to thair warks, and wil flie from vice and vnrich­teousnes; quhilk takes na tent to the na­ture of thair faith, and to thair zeale, and fervencie in the true seruice & worship­ping of God; quhilk is a matter of grea­ter consequence. But it is not thy warks can make thee free from sinne, Rom. 3. 27 28. nor from hel: Rom. 5. 1. It is by faith thou mon be justified; and through thy beliefe thou mon be sa­ued. 1. Pet. 1. 9. Yea, Iohn. 6. 47. but quhat sal I beleeue (would [Page 58] thou say) that I may be saued? Euen this thou hes to beleeue. First, that the God of heauen, quhilk wes worshipped in Is­raell, is the onely true God, the Almich­tie, and eternall father, quha hes created all the warld, and by his deuine power, gouerns the same, and all things therein contained. Secondly, thou mon beleeue that this same God, according to his promise made to our Fathers, hes sent his onely Sonne Iesus Christ, downe from heauen into this warld, to take away the sinnes of mankind, quhairin all wer shot vp through the disobedience of our first progenitor Adam: Quhilk, as a gracious Sauiour became a naturall man, and by his death and obedience, hes made the reconciliation betwixt God and vs, and hes redeemed vs from the hel quhairvn­to al were condemned. Beleeue that in him the Lord is weill pleased, and with thee for his sake: That he hes made a full and sufficient recompense for al thy sins bypast & to come: that he is risen againe from death, and by his resurrection hes [Page 59] ouercome the same, and the sting thairof, quhilk is sinne, the deuil, and hel the re­compense of sinne. Beleeue that hee is ascended againe to the heuen, and there sits at the richt hand of his Father, ma­king intercession to him for thee, and all that beleeues in his death; and that he sal yet come againe from heauen to judge the warld, & sal raise thee to everlasting life. Thirdly, thou mon beleeue, that af­ter the ascension of our Saviour Iesus Christ; the Comforter, the haly Ghost and spreit of God, wes sent downe from the Father and the Sone into this warld; To rule, to preserue, to instruct, to stren­then, to comfort, to renewe and sanctifie by his michtie power, al the chosen chil­dren of God (quhilk is his halie and vni­uersal Kirk) ay and quhill Iesus Christ come againe to finish al things. If thou apprehend these three persons and ane God with a true faith; & beleeue al thair warks, thair precepts, & promises quhilk are set downe in the Scriptures; as also the doctrine of thair Prophets, Apostles, [Page 60] Pastors, and ministers: Thou may certi­fie thy selfe, that though thy sinnes were neuer sa hainous and detestable, thay sall be freelie remitted, and neuer laid to thy charge; That thou art ane whome the Lord hes predestinate to eternal saluati­on; & that al thy present pain sal be con­verted in everlasting pleasure. But thou may justly object vnto me, that thou can nather vse sik a forme of repentance: nor ȝit can find sik strenth of faith in thy self, as is heere required. Indeede it is true, that nather faith, nor repentance are at thy taking: nor ȝit can be giuen thee by any creature: but mon proceed from the michtie working of Gods spirit in thy heart. Thairfore, thou mon prostrate thy selfe before the Lord, and by earnest and diligent praier, craue them incessantlie at his hands, quha hes onely power to giue them. Shewe him in thy praier that thou art miserable; that without his help thou art but lost, that thou can do na gud thing, except hee giue thee grace, that thou art there reddy to obey his wil, and [Page 61] inquire of him, quhat he wald haue thee to doe; burding him with his mercifull promises; remember him of his wonted mercies, and warks of old; but cheiflie of the sufferings and satisfaction of his Son Iesus christ, to quhais richteousnes thou mon cleaue; and in his name, and for his sake, mon craue mercie, grace, pacience, strength, increase of faith, and releefe of thy paine, according to his gude plesure, at the bountiful hands of God. Oh, but here is all the difficultie, wilt thou say, I am sa troubled and dejected, that I can­not pray. Surelie, I graunt that the op­pressed spirit, wil be sometimes brocht to sik extremitie, that it can neither be­leeue, repent, pray, nor meditate: But like a brute beast, wil remain for a season, al­togither stupifact and confused. There­fore when thou art in that perplexitie, a­bide pacientlie the Lords wil & leasure; for thair is na remeid but pacience, quhil the Lord driue away the darknes of thy minde; seeing that obscuritie wil not tary lang: and at leist, sa far as is possible, haue [Page 62] the eie of thy heart direct towardes the Lord, and thy thocht caried vp to the he­uen; haue a desire to pray, and vtter thy intention with sighs: For the Lord that is a spirit knawis what thy spirit wald, albe­it there be nathing vttered in wordes. Rom. 8. 27. And when thou gets a blenk of licht, and release of thy paine, haue refuge hastelie to the Mediator Iesus Christ, quha hes bidden sik as are wearie and laden come to him and he will ease them: Powre out thy complaints & supplications before him, and beseech him to make mediati­on to his Father for thee whome he hes redeemed with his blood, to appease his Fathers wrath, and to present thee fault­lesse vnto him. Father, least thou be o­ver farre casten downe with the remem­brance and sicht of thy sinne; haue not thine eies alwaies fixed vpon the vglines of thy sinne: but rather vpon the infinite mercies of God, quhilk exceids thy sinne in greatnes. Remember likewaies, his merciful promises, and mercy shewed to his servants, that hes bene in the like e­estate, [Page 63] that thou art now in: And if thou can remember that the Lord hes shewed mercie at any time on thee before, by deliuering thee out of danger or troble: Then thou may be suirly perswaded that he wil shew mercie on thee again: for the mercie of God is without repentance. Ro. 11. 29. Heirfore, if thou continue after this ma­ner, in fasting, in praier, in purging & circumcising thy heart and conscience, in suf­fering paciently the Lords rod & corre­ction, & in hope dailie waiting for his deliverance: Thair is na question, but thou sal see a blessed issue of thy trouble: For thou sal resaue the haly Ghost quhilk sal redresse thy falts, cure thy misery; illumi­nate thy vnderstanding, sanctifie thy saul and make thee a new man, far aboue thy expectation. Bot foralsmeikle as the rest and wanrest of the spirit & conscience consists meikle in the daily exercise & con­versatioun of man: I will also breiflie set downe what y ^t suld eschew, & how thou suld be exercised during the time of the trouble and wanrest of thy Conscience.

CHAP. VIII.
Quhat things man aucht cheifly to eschew, and quhairin he suld be exercised during thè wanrest and trouble of his conscience.

VVAld thou not haue thy Consci­ence to bite, to accuse, nor to trouble thee? Then giue na matter to thy Conscience, quhairupon it may bite, or ac­cuse thee, and be not the cause of thine awin troble. The matter or subject quhilk baith makes the Conscience to bite, & dis­quiets the spirit of man, is sinne. Thair­fore, to pacifie and acquiet thy sprit and Conscience; thou suld flee sinne and follow richteousnes, quhilke brings peace and quietnes with it. And albeit, it be impos­sible to man, sa lang as he is in this taber­nacle of fleshe, to be altogither without sinne, and to abstaine from doing euill: seeing the whole course of this life is but a continual falling, and a rising. Never­theles, the regenerat man, is not oft seen to fall in the publick and notorious sins, quhilk are manifest to the warld; But wil [Page 65] be vnreproueable, & vpright in the sight of men; neither will sinne haue domini­on, or the vpper hand in him. Herefore, thou aucht at all times, but principally now in this the time of thy inward trou­ble, and of the Lords visitation, to take diligent heed to thy waies: and at least to eschew al occasions of euil, whereby thy weake Conscience may bee wounded, on the other part, thou aucht to vse all con­venient meanes, whereby thou may bee stirred vp to serue God, and to followe righteousnes, that the wounde of thy in­firme conscience may be healed. First then beware, that during the time of thy vex­ation, thou vse no worldly means to put away the memory, and sicht of thy sinns; and to cause thee to forget them: As by drinking, banquetting, daunsing, singing sporting▪ or by hanting the ryotous companie or wanton and merry men: For in so doing, thou lulles thy selfe a sleepe, & like as the Serpent stoppes her eare with her tayle, least she should heare the voice of the inchaunter: So stoppes thou thine [Page 66] eare, that thou shouldest not heare the Lord calling, and knocking at the doore of thy Conscience; least by his holy spirite he should enter in, and convert thee. Be­ware thou seeke any vnlauchfull meanes to releeue thee of thy paine, and to con­tent thy minde: as by witch-craft, by ta­king of thy warldly and fleshly pleasures, or by revenging on thine enemies: Con­siddering, that this sal at length augment thy paine, albeit it seeme pleasant for a season, and sall prolong thy trouble: Be­cause thou seekes not to God, that is see­king thee; but turnes thy back vpon him, & seeks help where it is not to be found. Beware thou continue not in thy woon­ted vice and wickednes, heaping sinn vp­on sinn, without regard what thou dois, or taking vp of thy self from thy vngod­ly course: For then in contemptible manner thou despisest the Lords correction, & will not be reformed by his discipline, but takes a plaine banner aganis him, & kindles his fearce wrath more and more agains thee, in sik sort, that thou sall at [Page 67] the last bring thy selfe to vtter desperati­on. Beware thou reuile not thy estate, and forme of thy trouble rashly to every man: neither craue thou the advise, and counsell of naturall & worldly men; mei­kle lesse, follow thou their opinion in the matter of the trouble and disease of thy Conscience: For then thou dois no other­waies, nor if thou would craue the con­sultation of a jurisconsult, in the matter of thy health: or advise thy proces with a medicinar. There is neither helpe, nor true comfort to be found that way, in re­spect the natural and vnregenerate man; yea the vnregenerate part of the regene­rate man (for there is no perfyte regene­ration in this life) is altogither blinde in spirituall things, & wil ever giue a coun­sell direct contrary to the will and spirit of God. Mairover, bridle and refrain thy tongue, that vnruly member, as with a bit, from lying, slaundering, backbyting, mocking, railling, vpbraiding, and cur­sed speaking: For thereby thy Conscience may be grievously wounded. And for as [Page 68] much as the world is ful of temptations, and stumbling blocks, whereon man is daily in danger to fall: Therefore I would wish thee, so long as thy Conscience is dis­eased, not to entangle nor meddle thy selfe much with worldly busines: but to abstract thy mind from the solicitude of temporall affaires; and to withdrawe thy selfe from the societie of the prophane multitude: to the effect, that being free from al outward perturbation, thou may be the better disposed to serue thy God, to giue thy selfe to contemplation, and to be exercised in all spirituall and god­ly exercitions. Let then thy daily exer­cise, during the disease of thy Conscience, be this: If thou can read, giue thy selfe to the lecture of comfortable books com­posed by learned and godly men; and to the reading of the holy Scriptures: But in speciall revolue diligently the bookes of Genesis & Exodus, the history of Iob, the Psalmes of David, the Evangel of Ie­sus Christ according to Matthewe and Iohn, the Acts of the Apostles, and their [Page 69] Epistles. Where thou shall finde singu­lar comfort in the wonderfull works, and divine providence of the Lord in delive­ring and preserving of his people; in his healthsome instructions & gracious promises made vnto them; and in his excee­ding great mercie, and loving kindnes towards his servaunts, quhilk haue bene in the like estate, that thou art now in. The company quhilk thou frequents, let it be of godly, wise, and learned men; of whose conference thou may receiue instructi­on and consolation. And if thou woulde communicate thy secreit vexation to a­ny man; or wold be resolved of any thing whereof thou art in doubt. Addresse thee to some notable servant of God, appro­ved in life and knawledge, to whome the Lord hath committed the dispensation of his word: To him disclose thy minde, & seek resolution of him, in those things quhilk concerns thy Conscience, and weill of thy soull. Isa. 56. 7 Haunt the Kirk; Mat. 21. 13 for it is the house of God: Haunt the Assemblies of the faithful convened to serue the Lord: [Page 70] And giue diligent eare to the preaching of his holy word: Nevertheles, while the darknes of thy minde bee driuen away, while thy heart and Conscience, be purifi­ed, and that by some mesure of faith thou apprehend remission of thy sins, and sal­vation throgh the death of Iesus Christ; I would not counsell thee to present thy selfe to the haly Communion, and sup­per of the Lord Iesus. Delight in solitair meditations of the wonderful works, the mightie power, the infinite mercie, and divine providence of God; in deliuering, gouerning, comforting, and preserving his Kirk, and the members thereof, from the beginning of the worlde. Rehearse & meditate likewise, on the office, life, and sufferings of our Saviour Iesus Christ. Remember the strange miracles wroght by him, his notable doctrine, his graci­ous advertisements, Read Iohn 6. 13. 14. 15 16. & 17. chapters. of tribulation and persecution to come, his own comming againe, and his comfortable promises made vnto al them that beleeues in him, and looks for his returning. Call to re­membrance [Page 71] his pacience, tender loue, humilitie, and meeknesse, whereof thou should learne and labour to be a follow­er. Be euer cleansing thy heart, and ryp­ping out the latent vice, & heritable cor­ruption that lurks within thee: that thou may be a meet receptacle, and temple of the holy Ghost: For where the heart is polluted, and the Conscience defiled, the spirit of God can make no residence nor dwelling. Reconcile thy selfe, so far as is possible, with al men: Expell all malice, hatred, and envie. Be not a revenger of thine owne cause: For thereby thou sall renew and ranckle the wound of thy con­science: but remit the vengeance thereof to God, & craue justice of the Magistrat. Try and examine thy self, how thou pro­fits in knawledge, faith, and amendment of life, by the reading & hearing of Gods word. Reduce in memory what dangers of body, of soule, or oflosing thy goods, thou hes ben in, during the course of thy life, and how the Lord hes delivered and preserued thee. Siklike, cal to mind what [Page 72] good gifts of the body, of the spirit, or of other temporall things, thy God hes be­stowed on thee: Be thankful to him ther­fore, and therevpon thou may take assu­rance, that considering the constancie of the Lord, he wil neuer leaue thee altogi­ther destitute of help; but wil euer haue mercie and compassion on thee, as hee hes had in times preceiding. Be alwaies occupied in well doing and exercise the workes of righteousnes: visite the sicke, comfort the sorrowfull, support the poor and needie, defend the poore oppressed, treate peace and concord among neigh­bours and brethren: Instruct the igno­rant in the knowledg of Iesus Christ. Fi­nally, let al thy actions, thy wordes, and cogitations tend to the glory of God, to charitie and meeknes. And every night, when thou goest to bed, or being in thy bed, take count of thy selfe how thou hast bestowed that day: If thou hes bene wel exercised, praise God for it, and trauel to continue: If thou hes bene euil occupied, sleepe not while thou repent, and craue [Page 73] God mercie for thy offences: Take pur­pose to do better the nixt day, and ende­vour thy selfe to amend, take newe reso­lution to reforme thy waies, and aspyre daily by the grace of God, to a greater perfection. But aboue all things, be dili­gent in fasting and praier: Pray continu­ally; for thereby al good thinges are ob­tained: Pray in the Morning, in the Eue­ning, at mid-day, & at al times when the spirit movis thee: yea, chiefly in the night when others are at rest, arise (if the com­moditie may serue) or secretly in thy bed enter in familiar and earnest conference with thy God. And when thou findes a coldnes & sluggishnes in thy self to pray, and to worship God: The commemora­tion and remembrance of the woonder­ful works and mercies of God, of thy de­liverance out of thy former troubles, and of his manifolde benefites bestowed on thee (which thou for that same purpose, should collect and keepe for a memori­all in write.) The memory, I say, of these things, shal kindle and inflame thy spirit [Page 74] to be fervent in praier, & zealous in the service of thy Creator. And albeit this forme of liuing may perchance appeare austere, painful, & tedious to thee in the beginning: (though nothing suld seeme painfull or fasheous to thee, considering thy dangerous estate, & the importance of the matter it self, quhilk concerns thy salvation & damnation) Nevertheles, by frequent custome, thou shalt find it most easie, comfortable, and sweet: For, like as thou hes now a sicht & sore feling of thy sin, & of Gods wrath kindled against thee for thy sin: So sall thou doubtles in short time, by this thy godly behaviour, get a sicht & feling of thy regeneration & newnes of life, of the remission of thy sin, & of the favour & mercie of God throgh the intercession of the mediator Iesus christ. Whereby thou sall obtain peace of Con­sciēce, with such contentment, & gladnes as cannot be expressed. And seing praier is the chiefe part of the true service and worshipping of God; and the principall meane & way, whereby we ought to seek [Page 75] to him, to obteine al good thinges at his hands: Herfore I haue also set down here to thee, a form of praier to be vsit, during the time of the trouble of thy Conscience, quhilk thou may read and consider, and thereafter collect thereof so much as a­grees with thy present estat & may serue to thy purpose.

CHAP. IX.
A Praier to be said by such, as are trobled in spirit & conscience, throgh sight of their sins.

IVst, dreadful, almightie, merciful, & e­verliuing God! Who by thine al seing spirit, seest the deeds, hears the words, & knowes the secret thochts of al hearts: Behold me poor wretch, in thy mercie, here on the face of this low earth, prostrat be­fore thine holy & high throane. Alace! I confes Lord, that I am not worthie to lift vp my face to heaven, nor to receiue any comfort or good thing of thy hands: For I haue sinned, alace! I haue sinned aganis thee, I haue broken thy statutes, I haue abused thy clemencie & benefits, I haue committit abhomination, & followitthe [Page 76] affections and lusts of mine owne heart. Wherefore, thou hast nowe, Lord, affli­cted me, and that most justly: Thou hast made mine owne Conscience to accuse, & torment me: my soul is vehemently vex­ed, and heauie vnto death, my heart is faint through anguish, and my flesh con­sumes and pines for feare of the stroke of thy hand. Thou art angrie, O Lord? thou art angrie: but who is able to abide thy fearce wrath? Thou knowest that man is but a vaine thing, Psal. 39. 5 his life is like a vapour, or a shadow which vanisheth away in an instant, and the imaginations of his hart are euil and wicked. Genes. 8. 21 I am but dust, & like the flowre of the field which withers and decaies suddenly; I cannot abide the heat of thine anger. It is true, Lord, that I am inexcusable, and sinful out of measure; but mercie belongs vnto thee; let thy mercie therefore abound, and appear in­finite in forgiving me many sins, I turne me vnto thee, O Lord, turne thee againe vnto me; I seeke thy face, hide not thy fa­vourable face from me; but let the bright [Page 77] blenks of thy loving countenance shine on me: For thou knowest, it repenteth me of the evil which I haue done, and that I trust in thee: But, Lord supply my defici­ent repentance, and helpe my vnbeleefe: For my repentance is imperfect, and my faith is weake. None can come to thee, vnlesse thou draw them; Iohn. 6. 44. nor can beleeue while they be conuerted by thy spirite: Draw me therefore vnto thee, and I shal come; convert me, and I shal be conver­ted. O Lord, Thou knowest the dolour & sorrowe of my heart for my sinne, thou seest my miserie and trouble: Day and night I mourne and I lament, my face is al bedewed with teares, and my soul we­rieth of my life: I am a monster to them that beholds me, and mine acquaintance wonders at my miserie. There is no help in man, neither doth any worldly conso­lation availe me. No Man, nor Angell is able to releeue mee, but thou onely: without thy help, Lord, I am but lost for euer. But when did you ever reject the heauie heart, & the oppressed Conscience [Page 78] quhilk did seek to thee with continuance? Thou delights not in the death of sinners but would haue al men to repent, Eze. 18. 23 and be saued: 1. Tim. 2. 4. Thou art slowe to anger and redy to forgiue: 2. Pet. 3. 9. Thy wrath is consaued in the morning and forgot in the evening: Thy mercie exceeds my sinnes, and all things in greatnes; and there is no end with thy compassion. Let not then, O Lord, thy mercie be shut vp in displeasure; be not angrie with me for ever, neither correct me any more in thy wrath: For I am no more in thy hands, nor the potshard is in the handes of the potter: But remember thy wonted mercies, and workes of olde shewed to thy servants Abraham, Isaac, & Iacob, to Moses, David; and to thy peo­ple Israel: Remember the death and obe­dience of thy deare sonne Iesus Christ; remember the anguish of his heart, when he praied vnto thee, that night he was be­traied; & his cries on the crosse, when he cried vnto thee, My God, my God! why hes thou forsaken me? Was it not for my sin, O Lord, that he suffered these things? [Page 79] Loose not then thy poor servant whome thou hes so dearlie bought with the blud of thy Lamb: Behold him, Lord, sitting at thy right hand, & let thy wrath be apesed with me, in regarding his humble coun­tenance: Haue not respect to my deser­uings, & vnworthines; but vnto his death and obedience: Impute his righteousnes vnto me, & let his justice, be made my ju­stice; for he hes redemit me: yea, for thine own mercies sake, & merits of thine only Son, my saviour, cast my sins behind thy back, remember my iniquities no more, and haue pittie on my distres & miserie. Behold, Lord, I am here, what is thy will with me? what sal I do? what course sall I take? how sal behaue my selfe in this my troble, & during the whol pilgrimage of my life? Make answere vnto me: for I will not leaue crying vnto thee. Yea, though thou suld kil me, yet wil I not depart from thee, but will still trust in thee. My whole desire is to please thee, shew me thy will, therefore, & enlarge my hart, that I may obey thy voice, & fulfill thy commande­ments. [Page 80] O my God! Raise me vp in thy mercie, as thou hast casten me downe in thy ju­stice: let me see thy salvation and delive­rance from the bondage of Satan, of sin, and of mine owne concupiscence. I thirst for thy mercie and grace, O Lord, as the dry ground dois for the running waters: Redresse my faultes therefore, let them be freely forgiuen, as though they had never bene committed: And as thou hes giuen me a feeling of my sinne, and of thine indignation against sinne: So giue me a sure perswasion of the remission of my sin, and a feeling of thy favour, with­out the quhilk I cannot liue. Driue away the darknes of my minde; Let all these troublesome cogitations, vaine feare, in­credulitie and mistrust depart from me: Settle and pacifie my perturbed spirite, binde vp my wounded Conscience, heale my contrite & broken heart, restore my courage and my strength, restore me to that joye quhilk I was woont to finde in thee. And if it be thy pleasure, Lord, re­mooue thy scourge from me: for I haue [Page 81] felt enough thy hand: mitigate my pain, & let me see the issue of my troubles, that I may be able to beare them: yet, not as I will Lord, but as thou wilt: If thy glory may be advanced through my sufferings; or thy power made perfect through my infirmitie and weaknesse; let mee suffer whatsoeuer pleaseth thee: Try me, as the gold & as the silver, quhilk is purified in the fornace, while I be made a meet tem­ple of thy holie spirit, and be well prepa­red for thy kingdome. Alwaies acording to thy promise & faithfulnes, tempt me not aboue that quhilk I am able to beare: For thou knowest I am weak, and am but flesh. Giue me therfore patience, strenth, and constancie with the triall, that I may suffer, resist, overcum, & inherit al things. Let thy constant and good spirit rest in me, O Lord, that I may stand stedfast vn­to the end of this battell; that I fret not with my self, after the maner of the wic­ked, nor cast off thy crosse throgh impa­tiencie: but that I may adhere firmly vn­to thee, humblie submit my selfe to thy [Page 82] will, patiently waite and watch for thy comming and deliverance, and be harti­lie well content with thy good pleasure, whatsoeuer crosse or afflictioun it shall please thee to lay on me: For thou know­est what is good for me, thou hes al pow­er in heuen, and in earth, thou hes a con­tinuall care and loue towards thy chosen Children, thou art constant, and true in thy promises, and thy mercie and loving kindnes indures for ever. I will alwaies waite on thee (my God) I will suffer thy stripes & correction: for I haue deserued them. I render my selfe vnto thee; I giue me over, soul & body, in thy hands; I sub­mit me all whollie to thy will; rule, & vse the work of thy hands, as seems good in thine eies: For I am thy servant: yea, whe­ther I be in prosperitie, or adversitie; in wealth, or in povertie; in estimation, or disesteemed; in joy, or in heavines; in ple­sure, or in paine; in health, or in sicknes; whether I liue or die, I am alwaies thine, thy servant, & work of thine owne hands. Graunt me therefore, O Lord, onlie thy [Page 83] loving countenance, thy blessing, thy fa­uour, and thy grace; and then I sall haue ynough; they salbe sufficient for me; that is all that I craue: For thou sall make my heart more joyful therby, nor they quhilk possesseth great kingdomes. O louing fa­ther, hide mee vnder the shadowe of thy wings, and performe that worke quhilk thou hes begunne in me, to thy glorie to my comfort and salvatioun; that I may praise thee, & thy deare son Iesus Christ, in whose name, & for whose sake I craue these things at thy bountifull handes, Ioh. 16. 24 as he hes taught and commanded me. To thee throgh him, be al honor & glorie, in heaven and in earth, for euer. Amen.

O holy Lambe, and only sonne of the everliving God! The light of the world, and redeemer of mankind; (my sweet Sa­viour Iesus Christ) I come vnto thee, as vnto my onlie stay and refuge, wearie, & laden with sorrow, and with sin, and sore thirsting for thy grace & mercie. There­fore, according to thy promise, ease me of my burden; Mat. 11. 28 and giue me of the water [Page 84] of life to drink, Iohn. 4. 14 whereby my thirst may be quenched for ever. Thou hast promised likewise, O Lord, to be with vs vnto the end of the worlde: Be with me then, as thou hes promised, now in my extreame trouble, and vrgent necessitie: For I am thine, & I trust in thee. Behold (my God) I haue gone long astray, like a lost sheep, my sinnes hes almost deceiued mee; For through the multitude thereof, I haue provoked & kindled the wrath of thy Fa­ther against me▪ Wherefore I am broght wondrous low, and am reduced to great extremitie: my soule is wo and sore grie­ued, that I haue offendit his Majestie: but thou art able to raise me out of the dust, & to reconcile thy Father with me: For thou art his anointed: Hee hes sent thee to bind vp the broken harted, Esai. 61. 1 to preache libertie to the captiues, to preache good tydings to the poore, the recovering of sight to the blind, the opening of the pri­son to them that are bound, to preache the acceptable year of the Lord, to com­fort them that morne, to giue them bew­tie [Page 85] for ashes, the oyle of joye for mour­ning, and the garment of gladnes, for the spirit of heavines. O gracious Saviour! thou came not in the worlde to saue the righteous, but to bring sinners to repen­tance, whereof I am one of the greatest: Raise me vp therefore O my God, be thy mightie hand, wash away my sinnes with thy precious blood, make mee white, as the snowe and wooll, cloth me with thy righteousnes, pacifie the wrath of thy fa­ther conceiued aganis me for those sins, for the quhilk thou hes alreadie made ful satisfaction. Stand betwixt him and mee that his burning yre consume me not: O gracious mediator! make intercession to his diuine Majestie for me: present mee faltles vnto him: And let the comforter comfort me, & put me in remembrance of al things; that through his governance I may be safely conducted through al the perrels and temptations of this world, to thy celestiall kingdome, there to glorifie thee, the father, and the holy spirit, in e­ternall vnitie, with all kind of praise, and [Page 86] exaltation for ever. Amen. Make hast, O Lord, and tary not; that hauing obteined new experience of thy mercie, I may de­clare the same to my bretheren, that o­thers through my example may flie sin, & they quhilk are likewise dejected, may learne to seek help, and comfort in their trouble, where it is to be found; even at thy hands, O Lord, to thy perpetual glo­rie, to the comfort of thy Kirk, and over­throwe of the kingdome of Satan.

CHAP. X.
What comfort they may haue, that are af­flicted in Spirit and Conscience.

FOr so much as it is impossible to man, or Angell, by any reason, perswasion, or consolation; to comfort that persone from whome the Lord hes hid his favou­rable face: while it please his majestie to turne againe his loving countenance, & to worke a sure perswasion of his favour inwardly in the hart, by the operation of his holy spirit. Nevertheles, the ordinary means and citation of the gracious pro­mises [Page 87] of the Lord, whereby man may re­ceiue comfort in troble, ought not to be contemned: Bot by the contrary, we suld haue refuge in al our afflictions therevn­to, being left to vs by God to that effect: For comfort must proceed from faith, & faith must come through the hearing of the word, and promises of God sounded, quhilk the holy Ghost thereafter makes to work in the heart. Therefore, the sweet comfort that thou may receiue (O man! that art afflicted in spirit and Conscience) is greter nor I am able to expresse; wher­of, a part is this. First for confirmation of thy faith, thou may knowe by extraordi­nary experience, that there is a divine power, even a God that rules the hearts of al men; and that the same God among all his creatures, is mindefull of thee. Se­condly, It is a manifest token, that thou art beloued of God, when he chastises, & rebukes thee: For, whome the Lord loues (saith the Apostle) he chastises, & scour­geth every Son that he receiues: Heb. 12. 5. VVhen he corrects thee, Prou. 3. 11. he offers himselfe vnto [Page 88] thee, Reu. 3. 19. as vnto his Son; and doth it for thy profit, that thou may bee partaker of his holines. Thirdly, It is not possible, that thou can be exalted to Christs kingdom, except thou be first assaulted with temp­tation, Act. 14. 22 except thou be casten down, and haue a liuely feling of thine own sin and wretchednes: Thou can not be victori­ous, vnles thou fight; & thou cannot ob­taine a crowne of victory, vnles thou be victorious. 2. Tim. 2. 12 But if thou suffer with Christ, Rev. 3. 21. thou sal also raigne with him: and if thou resist & overcome temptation, as he did, thou sal be sure also to sit with him in his throane, as hee sits with his Father in his throne. Fourthly, albeit thou be in great perplexitie, thou suld not thinke that the Lord hes forsaken thee, or is wrath with thee: For the Lord is not at all times an­grie with his children, when he appeares to them to be angrie, & when they haue a feling of the lack of his favour: Neither doth hee alwaies chastise them for their sins: but is accustomed at some time, to hide his face from them for a litle season; [Page 89] to let them knowe their owne weaknes, and wretchednes, to worke patience in them, to acquaint them with his Disci­pline, and to let them know how misera­ble their estate is, when his favourable face is hid from them. Fiftly, Iohn. 3. 3. There is a time, at the quhilk the Lord makes inti­mation to al his chosen children, of their election and salvation, by sending them his holy spirit, Tit. 3. 5. by whome they are bapti­sed, and regenerat to amendment of life: And commonly before this calling and receiving of the holy Ghost, there goes a great trouble of the minde, a dejection, and a terrible feare; that it wald seeme to man, that God had forsaken him, and ca­sten him away; where by the contrary, he is drawing him to him, and knocking to haue entrie in his hart by his holy spirit. What sal I recount the gracious & com­fortable promises of the Lord, to his af­flicted members, that are touched with a feeling of their owne sin, and miserie? He saith, by the mouth of the Prophet; Psa. 103. 13 That as a Father hes compassion on his Chil­dren; [Page 90] so hes he compassion on them that fear him: Esai. 49. 15 And though a woman suld for­get the son of her wombe, yet will he not forget his elect. For a litle while (saith the Lord to his people) haue I forsaken thee, Esa. 54. 7 but with great compassion will I gather thee: For a moment, in mine anger, I hid my face from thee for a little season, but with everlasting mercie haue I had com­passion on thee. Psal. 34. 18 The Lord (saith David) is neere vnto them that are of a contrite heart, and will saue such as be afflicted in spirit. Psal. 51. 17. And againe, The sacrifices of God, are a contrite spirit: a contrite, and a bro­ken heart, O God, thou wilt not reject & despise. Mairover, saith not our savior Ie­sus Christ, that hee came not to saue the righteous, but to bring sinners to repen­tance? The Son of Man (saith he) came to saue that quhilk was lost: Mat. 18. 11. hes hee not also commandit such as ar weary & laden, to come to him, Mat. 11. 28 promising that he will ease them? Esa. 55. 1. and such as are thirstie to come to him, Ioh. 4. 14. and he wil giue them of the water of life to drink, Esa. 61. 1 quhilk sal spring vp into ever [Page 91] lasting life? Luke 4. 18. yea, certenly his very office is & for that effect was he sent in the warld by his father; to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captiues, re­covering of sight to the blind, & to set at libertie them that are in prison. Farther, dois not the Lord assure vs, that so soone as ever a sinner sal repent him of his sins, from the bottome of his heart; he wil put away his wickednes out of his remem­brance? And speking to his people be the mouth of his prophet, he saith wash you, Esa. 1. 16 make you cleane; take away the euill of your works from before my eies; cease to do evill, learne to do wel; seek judgment, releue the oppressed, judge the fatherles, and defend the widdow: Come then, and let vs reason togither (saith the Lorde) Though your sins were as crimsin, they salbe made white as snowe: Though they were red, like skarlet, they salbe as wooll. Besides this, he hes commandit vs by the mouth of the Psalmist, saying, Call on me in the day of thy trouble, Psal. 50. 15 so wil I de­liver thee, and thou shalt glorifie me.

[Page 92] Are not these also the vndoubted words of our saviour speaking to his Disciples? Verely, Ioh. 16. 23. verely, I say vnto you, that what­soeuer ye sal ask the Father in my name, he wil giue it you: ask, and ye sal receiue, that your joye may be made full. What more gracious & comfortable promises can the heart of man wish, nor these? Or what greter assurance wald thou haue of the mercie and compassion of the Lord, toward penitent sinners, nor this quhilk hee giues thee in expresse tearmes, with his own mouth? whereof one jote sal not faile: for he cannot lie. But I knowe thou wilt haue recourse to predestination, to the secret election, & reprobation of God, and is perswaded with thy selfe, that thou art one of them whome God hes forsa­ken & casten away. O foole! quhilk cer­tifies thy selfe (to thine own damnation) of that quhilk is hid, not only to man on earth, but also to the very Angels in hea­uen: For whome hes the Lord admitted on his secreit counsell to knowe them▪ whome hee hes chosen, or them whome [Page 93] he hes forsaken? Nay, nay, that knowledg is reserved only to himselfe. Therfore, al­beit thy affliction be never so great, thy sins never so hainous, thy repentance & amendment never so small, and thy faith never so weak: yet, neither thou, nor any mortal man can conclude, absolutly, that thou art reprobate, and forsaken of God. My reason is this, Because it is vnknown to thee, or to any man, when it may plese God to call thee to repentance, when he will instrengthen thy faith, and conse­quently forgiue thy sins, and bring thee to his kingdom. Why art thou then dis­couraged, and dispaired of thy salvation for the bitternes of thine afflictioun, for the multitude, and gravitie of thy sinnes, for the slacknes of thine amendement, or weaknes of thy faith; considdering, that none of these tokens canne import the necessitie of thy reprobation? For thou knawis, that affliction hes ever ben most proper to the children of God, from the beginning of the world. As to the num­ber & waight of thy sins, They can be no [Page 94] hinderance to the mercie of God: In re­spect, that where it pleaseth the Lord to shew mercie, it is no more difficil to him to remit innumerable sins, of whatsoever gravitie and waight; nor to forgiue the least offence that man can commit: The whol generation of mankind, was shut vp in sin, Rom. 3. 23. and was sinfull out of measure: But of the free mercie of God, the sins of the worlde were taken away, by the death of Iesus Christ: In such sort, that all that re­pents them of their sins, and beleeues in him the saviour, sal obtain free remission of al their sins whatsoever. Now, as con­cerning thy repentance & amendement of life; art thou dismaid, & dispaired of thy salvation, because thou cannot abstaine from sin, nor attaine to a perfect vpright­nes? Surely thou hes na just occasion: For no flesh can be without sin, nor attaine to a perfection in this life. Pro. 24. 16. The most vpricht man (saith Salomon) falls every day seaven times; Iob. 4. 18. & the very Angels ar not without spot in the sight of the everliving God. Rom. 3. 30. Knowest thou not, that man can not be [Page 95] justified by the workes of the Lawe? Na, doubtles, Psa. 143. 2. if the Lord will enter in judge­ment with man, & deal with him accor­ding to the precise rule of his law; no flesh suld be saued: For albeit the lawe of God be set before vs, as a rule whereunto wee suld apply and confer all our actions: yet are we not any more vnder the lawe, but in the estate of grace through the com­ming of Iesus Christ. And albeit the chil­dren of God haue his law deeply imprin­ted in their harts, & likes wel to keep the same: Galat. 3. 11 yet sall they not be counted righte­ous for fulfilling thereof, as though they had deserved everlasting life, Act. 13. 39. seeing no man ever fulfilled the Lawe: But because they beleeue, that they are redeemed by the blood of Iesus Christ, who hath ac­complished the law in all points, and hes merited all good things of his Father for vs: Therefore, the Children of God sall be justified, and receiue eternall life. If then thou bee sory, that thou can not a­mend thy life, if thou haue ane earnest, desire, and bent intention to doe good, [Page 96] and eschew evill, ioyned with a true faith in Iesus christ: assure thy self, that the spi­rit of God works that in thee, & that it sal be impute vnto thee for righteousnes, & that the Lord in his own appointed time sall make that desire, and intention to be effectuall, bringing forth good works to amendment of life. What canst thou say farther? that thou art daily relaps in pub­lick sins, from the quhilk thou cannot re­fraine; and that neither thy sorrow there­fore, nor thy desire to abstaine, are any thing earnest & notable. Indeede, if so be thou art in an evill cace for the present. Nevertheles, there is yet no cause here of desperation: Forasmuch as none can tru­ly repent while they be called of the lord to repentance. No man can come to me, (saith our saviour) except the Father that sent me, Iohn. 6. 44. drawe him. Seeing then, repen­tence is not the gift of man, but of God; & that thou knowest not the time, when it sall please the Lord to call and convert thee: Thou ought in no wise to dispaire, but to liue continually in gude hope, dai­lie [Page 97] attending thy calling and conversion. Hes thou not heard the Parable of the labourers in the Vineyard, Mat. 20. 1. That he quhilk came at the last hour of the day, received equall wages, with him that came in the morning? whereby our saviour signifies vnto vs, that there is no time of mans life at the quhilk the Lord wil not cal & con­vert man vnto him. I haue heard of some men, quhilk at the latter houre on their deathbed, being put in remembrance of their god, by the assistants; hes burst forth with horrible blasphemies against God, and vttered words of plaine desperation. But in ane instant, through the singular mercy of God, & fervent praier of the as­sistants, was converted to the Lorde, by lamenting carefully such blasphemies, by making manifest declaration of their faith in Iesus Christ, and giuing al liuely signs of their election, departed plesant­ly, & in a happy estat to the sight of men. VVhen Paul wasted the Kirk of Christ, & persecuted his Saints, Act. 9. 1. both men and wo­men, to the death; who wald haue thoght [Page 98] but that he had bin a reprobat, & a fagot prepared for hell? Nevertheles, hee was called to repentance, & was made a cho­sen vessell of the Lord. Who wald haue said, Mat. 26. 69 but that Peter had bin the son of per­dition, and that there could be no salvati­on for him; when after hee was called to be one of the disciples of Iesus christ, had bene sa long conversant with him, had heard his doctrine, seene his miracles, & confessed that he was the very Christ of God: For all this, he denied him thrise on a night? Notwithstanding, he came to re­pentance that same night, was accepted of the Lord, & made a notable Apostle, & Preacher of the Evangel of Iesus Christ, both to the Iews & Gentils. Finally, who wald not haue thought, but the Gentills had bene forsaken of God, & predestinat to eternall damnation, quhilk baith mis­knew God, and committit al kind of abo­mination vnder heven? Yet the Lord for­got al their iniquities, and of his infinite mercie brought them to the knowledge of him, of his Sonne Christ Iesus, & cal­led [Page 99] them to be partakers of his caelestiall kingdome. Haue we not also seene in our daies, men of maist disolute & licentious liues, quhilk afterward beeing converted & sanctified by the spirit of God, hes be­come notable & profitable members of the Kirk of Iesus Christ? Heirfoir, albeit such as leads a life repugnant to the Law of the Lord, may be justly counted reprobates with this restriction, except they turne to God by repentance: nevertheles, let no man condemne absolutely, either himself, or his neighbor before his deth: because there is nothing in any man, but corruption & sin, til he be sanctified, and regenerate by the spirit of God; the time whereof none knowes but God only: Iohn. 3. 8 for as the wind blowes where it listeth, so is every man that is borne of the spirite. I come nowe to thy faith, quhilk because thou finds it weake, and full of doubting, thou art dispaird of thy salvation. Indeed the truth is, that no man can be saved vn­les he beleeue: But if al were condemned whose faith is weake, & doubtfull; I pray [Page 100] thee then tel me who suld be saved? when the Disciples of Iesus Christ inquired of him, Mat. 17. 19 why they could not cast the Devill out of the Lunatik person; he answered, becaus of their vnbeleef: and declared to them, that if their faith had bene as mei­kill as a graine of mustard seede, they suld remoue mountains, & that nothing suld be impossible to them. Farther, albeit our Saviour had oftimes instructed his Disci­ples and forewarned them with his own mouth, that he wald rise againe on the 3. day after his death. Nevertheles, when Mary Magdalen told them of his resurre­ction, Mark. 16. 11. 12. & that he had apeared to her, they beleeved it not: Thereafter, he appeared to two of themselues, quhilk shewe it to the remnant, but they beleuit it not: yea, after he had shawin himself to the eleven in Galile, Mat. 28. 17 yet some of them were in doubt and beleeved not. Luc. 24. 41 If this weaknes of faith then, & doubting was in the disciples of Christ, who notwithstanding shall sit on twelue throans, Mat. 19. 28 & judg the twelue tribes of Israell, when the Lord shall sit on the [Page 101] throane of his Majestie: What cause hes thou, O nauchtie man! to be dispaired of thy salvation, althogh thy faith be weak, and full of doubts? Certainly, if thy faith continued as weak as the faith of the Di­sciple Thomas, quhilk wald not beleeue the resurrection of Iesus, whil he put his finger in the wound of his hands, and of his side; thou might think that thou were in an evil cace: Ioh. 20. 27. But seing Thomas after he had seene Christ beleued, & was blessed; Blessed art thou if thou beleeue in him, quhilk saw him never. What sal I speak of the waknes, dulnes, & ignorance of man? The haill Apostles after the ascension of Iesus Christ, Act. 11. 2. For all their reading of the scriptures, and doctrine quhilk they had heard of his mouth; were ignorant of the caling of the Gentils, & knew not that the Evangel suld be preached to them, till it was first shewd to Peter in a vision, quhilk thereafter declarit the mistery & circum­stances thereof to the rest, beeing assem­bled at Ierusalē. O! But thou wil say, I feel no spunk of faith in me, I feele the wrath [Page 102] of God kindled aganis me, and a strong perswasion that he hes forsaken me. Thir ar hard sayings: but I haue alredy shewen thee the cause of this thy perswasion; To wit, becaus the Lord hes hid his face from thee for a little while; to humble thee, to try thy patience, & to let thee know how miserable thy estate wald be, if thou were altogither destitute of his favour. But I pray thee, remember, what thou beleued before thou entered in this troble, before the Lord hid his face from thee: and haue not respect what thou beleeues now, but what thou beleeuedst then. And if at any time of thy life thou beleeved assuredly, that Iesus christ hes suffered deth for thy redemption: thou may certifie thy selfe, that the Lord sal turne his loving counte nance towards thee, & that then thou sal receiue that same faith againe in greater mesure. Mairover, it is to be vnderstand, that mans election, & reprobation ar not ruled according to mans own Imagina­tion: For who liues in greater securitie, (in their own conceipt) who brags faster [Page 103] of their faith, and perswades themselues more of Gods favour, nor the most pro­phane, and godles livers? Will they not boldly & confidently say, that they dout nothing of their salvation, but thinks to be as high in heven, as any other? When nevertheles they are running a course di­rect contrary to the ordinance of God. The Iewes spake hardly to Christ & said, that they were not borne of fornication, Ioh. 8. 41. but had a father, quhilk was God. But Ie­sus answered them, that if God had bene their father, they would haue loued him, who proceeded from God: Quhilk seing they did not; he declarit vnto them, that they were of their father the deuil. By the contrary, there is none that hes a greater feling of their own sin, ar sorer troubled with tentations, & doubtings (as thou art presently nowe) nor the dearest servants of God. Example of David, Hezekiah, Iob, the Prophetes and Apostles, and a number of notable men in these our daies, whereof the particulars were long in this plaice, to alledge. VVherefore, [Page 104] gird vp thy loines, like a man, & comfort thy self in these things: ground & repose thy self in the merciful promises of God, and merits of his Son Iesus Christ: And not on thine own fantasies, & vaine ima­ginations. And if thou wald be counted the Son of God, submit thee willingly to his correction: If thou would receiue a crowne of glory, fight valiantly, & be vi­ctorious: If thou would receiue the holy Ghost, cleanse thy hart, & be lowly min­ded: If thou would be exalted for ever to reigne with Christ on his throne, be con­tent to be cast downe, & paciently to suf­fer with him: For by these degrees of ne­cessitie thou mon passe & ascend to the highest heuens. Stand fast then, watch, & haue patience, yet a little while, and thou sall see great things: Heb. 12. 11 For albeit no chaste­sing seemeth joyous, but grievous for the present, yet afterward it brings the quiet frute of righteousnes to them, quhilk are thereby exercised. After Winter, comes sommer, peace after warre, gladnes after sorrowe, & after the tempest comes the [Page 105] faire wether: Psal. 103. 9 The Lord wil not threat & rebuke continually, nor keepe his anger for ever, but is neere vnto them that are of a broken heart. He wil come, hee will come with speed, strang, merciful, & gra­cious, his holy name be praised, through his sonne Iesus Christ for ever. Amen.

CHAP. XI.
How long the trouble of the Conscience may continue, how peace enters in, and how long it may remaine.

AL men that are in troble or in pain, wald gladly vnderstand when their paine & trouble suld take an end: And in speciall, they that hes an inward trouble of the mind, that hes a paine in their soul & Conscience, and a feling of Gods wrath, burning aganis them, that are maist desi­rous to haue that feid reconciled, and to know how long their paine & troble will indure. All men (I say) wald hear of com­fort & releefe: but fewe hes regard howe long they haue rebelled agains God, how long they haue followit the affections of [Page 106] their own heart, and hes refusit to be re­formed by Gods holy word & discipline. Were it not then good reason, O man! that the Lord punished thee as long, as he hes suffered thee? and that thy paine suld continue as long, as thou hes continued in thy sin and rebellions? But it is with a mercifull partie thou hes to do, quhilk is slow to anger, & redie to forgiue; whose clemencie I would exhort thee not to a­buse, but to comfort thy self in it: For he is also just in his judgements; Heb. 10. 31 and it is a fearefull thing to fall in his hands. He hes shewen thee himselfe, when he wil forget thine iniquities; to wit, even then, when thou turns to him by earnest & vnfained repentance: But as to the time, when the inward paine of thy Conscience sall cease, and thou receiue peace thereof, It is vn­knowne to man: yea, it is als vncertaine when the Lord will remoue his scourge & punishment, as it is vncertain when he will lay it on: For it is to be marked, that the chastisement is not alwaies removed so soone as the sin is remitted: but for the [Page 107] singular weill and profit of the offender, wil continue to work patience in him, & to serue as a bridle to refraine him from falling in the like offences; while the Lord haue sufficiently purified him from such corruption. 2. Sam. 12. 10. 14. When David committed a­dultery & murther, by taking the wife of Vriah, and causing him selfe to be slaine; vpon his repentance, the Prophet Nathā saide to him, that the Lord had put away his sin, & that he suld not die: Neverthe­les, because by that deed, he had despised the Lord, and caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme; he declarit vnto him, that the sword suld never depart from his house; & that the child that was borne in adulterie to him suld surely dy. But to re­turn to the point of the matter quhilk we haue in hand: I haue heard of sundry per­sons, quhilk hes ben disquieted in spirit & Conscience, some for a year, some for two, some for three yeares, and some longer: (though not continually tormented, but by certain intervalls of time) & at length hes obtained inwarde quietnes and rest. [Page 108] But of the day & houre knawis no man. Psal. 119. 82. 148. & 69. 3. The man of God, Dauid saith, that he was wearie of crying, that his throat was dry, and that his eies were blinded with look­ing for the Lords deliverance: If then he suffered so long, thou suld not dispair al­beit thine affliction appeare longsome, but rather suld be content to suffer with the elect vessel of god. Alwaies thou may comfort thy selfe in this; that the lower thou be brought, the greter thy torment be, & the longer it continue; apparantly, when the releif comes, thy comfort and exaltation salbe the mair notabil & gret. Bot what matter is it, when thy delive­rance be, if thou haif certification of gods spirit, that it salbe; and that vpon thy true repentance thy sins ar remitted & forgi­uen? Ro. 8. 18. Considering, that al the pain quhilk thou can suffer in this life, is not worthy of that glory quhilk the Lord hes prepa­red for al them that loues him. Prescribe not therfore any time of thy deliverance, neither think that the Lord is slow: for he hes his own appointit time for al things; [Page 109] and when thou art farthest casten down, & hes given over al hope of warldly help, & reposis on thy God only, then is the Lord neerest vnto thee, to comfort and deliuer thee. Now as to the maner & forme how the trouble of mans conscience passis away, and true peace enters in; It is obserued in som persons to be this: There wil preceid & go before, an earnest repentance of the evil past, & a fervent desire to amend, & do wel: Man wil be heavily displesit with him selfe for his foul deffections, & wil tak a determinat resolution to reforme his life, & to do that quhilk is plesant in the sight of God; In sik sort, that throgh fervencie and grief, he wil feel an extreame dolor, & wil weep bitterly: Yea, he that before could never wring out a tear, nor be perfitly mo­ued for his sin; when the spirit of God en­ters in & pearsis the heart, he sal be liuely touched, sair grieued, & sal not be able to containe himself, nor to refrain from wee­ping. Nixt after sik perturbation, will fol­lowe a calmnes & quietnes of the mind; & suddenly wil arise a sure perswasion in the [Page 110] heart of the favour of God, and of the re­mission of sins: quhilk sall bring with it an exceeding great gladnes and reviuing of the spirit. Man wil then begin to banish all vaine feare & superstition in his doings; & with greter confidence will vse a christian libertie in doing of thinges lawefull to be done; his feare will be no more servile, but childish: For he wil not then fear the Lord, as the servant fears his awful master, or as the criminal person fears the terribil judg: But as the Son feares to offend his loving father; so wil he (being inflamed with loue and fervent zeall) feare to offend the Ma­jestie of his good God. Farther, he wil cum with a greter assurance to the Lord, in making his supplications: and wil not be mo­ued with such vaine cogitations & doub­tings; as he was, when his Conscience was weak & wounded. To be short, hee will be mair constant nor of before, & wil haue a certain contentment & rejoicing in al his actions, joined with the testimony of a gud and peaceable Conscience: yea, hauing ob­tained this inwarde tranquilitie & peace, [Page 111] man wil think himselfe so strong and sure, that he sall never be troubled againe, with the like accusation & terrour of his Consci­ence. But leist any suld be deceived in this point; It is to be vnderstand, that so soone as ever it sall please the Lord to turn away his favorable face, to shew his angry countenance, and to menace man for sinne, so soone sal newe terrours & torment of the spirit and Conscience arise again. The cho­sen vessell of God, Psal. 30. 6 King David, saide in his prosperitie, I sal never be moved: but thou Lord (saith he) didst hide thy face, & I was troubled. Therefore when thou hes recei­ued hevenly consolation, look not to keep it at thy pleasure: For temptation ceaseth not any long time, neither is that comfort laudable, but to be feared, quhilk makes a man to forget his sin altogither. The Lord cures his elect by temptation, and com­fort. And Iob saith, Iob. 7. 18. that the Lord dois vi­site man every morning, and tries him every moment. I knowe a notable Prea­cher of Gods worde (whome I doubt not but God hes ordained for his kingdome) [Page 112] who being sum time sore afflicted in Con­science, at last obtained comfort, & had in­ward peace for the space of many yeares. Nevertheles, at the plesure of the Lord, he was visited again of new; and divers & sun­drie times wald be for the space of a Mo­neth or two, grievously troubled: Of this same man, while he was yet in good estat, I inquired, how he reposed in the night: I wil take reasonable good rest (saith he) If God make vs not to remember the faults quhilk wee haue committed in our youth: Yea, surely, when it pleasis the Lord at any time, to present mans sinns before him, in their vgliest form, & therewithall to perce the heart; albeit man thocht himself in ne­ver so great securitie, and confidit never sa meikil in his own constancie, & strength: yet the sight thereof sal ever trouble him, after an extraordinar maner. Heirfore, my dear brother, when new trouble arisis, and when thou feelest a want of the favour of God; be not dismaied nor despaired: For it is no new thing; Iohn. 3. 9. but a thing costomable to the dearest servants of God. The spirit of [Page 113] God goes and comes at his pleasure, but will never abandon his Elect altogether. Seing then, that the whol course of a chri­stians life, is but a continuall battel, a con­tinuall falling by sin, and rising by repen­tance: And that the Lord will not suffer the Consciences of his servaunts to be long vnexercised: I wil now shew thee my opi­nion, howe thou suld behaue thy selfe, ha­uing (after long troble) obtained comfort, and peace of Conscience, and while thy spi­rit is yet at rest.

CHAP. XII.
How man ought to behaue himselfe hauing obtained peace of Conscience, after his inter­nall trouble.

LIke as all good things are receiued at the hands of God, by fervent and dili­gent praier: Even so, by thankfulnes, the benefits received, ar kept & retained. Hes thou obtained comfort and peace of Con­science at the bountiful hands of thy God? Then, if thou wald retaine it, & haue it to continue with the, see thou be thankful to thy God for the same. But such is the fragi­litie [Page 114] & corruption of mans nature, that in whatsoever estate he be, hee can not con­taine himself long within bounds. For get he a blast of adversitie, then is he dejected over lawe, & falls oftimes in mistrust: Get he a blenk of prosperitie, then is he incon­tinent exalted over high, & fals shortly in a careles securitie. Heirfore, I wald admo­nish thee to behaue thy selfe, as the skilful & expert Skipper dois, quhilk during the time of the tempest, is ever on foot, & bu­silie exercised; and in the greatest calme is ever looking & preparing for a storme to come: Even so thou, In adversitie behaue thy self patiently, constantly, & confident­ly; Againe, in prosperitie, behaue thy self warely, humbly, & thankfully. But specialy nowe, hauing obtained comfort from a­boue, & peace of conscience, I wald exhort thee to take diligent heed to thy behavior, and to be on this maner exercised. First of all, without delay, retire thee to thy cham­ber, or to the house of praier; Mat. 21. 13 and with all humilitie of hart, prostrate thy self before the Lord, acknowledge thy deliverance to [Page 115] haue proceeded from him, and rander all harty thanks to him therfore. Sing psalms and songs of praise cheerfully to the Lord: whereof, thou may finde great plentie a­mong the Psalms of David, agreing with thy cace: as in speciall, the 23. 24. 40. 91. 103. psalmes, & a great number of others. Yea, not onely praise him thy selfe alone, but also stir vp & exhort others to magni­fie him with thee. Advaunce his glory in thy words, thy writs, and thy deedes; and abhor those things quhilk may derogate, or be hinderfull therevnto. Hide not his goodnes shewen and reveilled vnto thee; but declare his mercie and loving kindnes to the members of his Kirk, & assemblies of them that feare him. Farther, dedicate thy self al whollie to thy God, Psal. 119. 106. and hence­forth vowe thy selfe, and thy service vnto him, & defend his cause, and the cause of his servants: And for confirmation of thy faith, and of the league betwixt the Lord and thee; go to his supper, the holy com­munion, renew the testament of our Lord Iesus Cstrist, by the participation of those [Page 116] seales and testimonies quhilk declaris his death and body broken for vs. Mairover▪ look what is set down in the eight chapter of this treatise for reformation of thy life, repeat the same in this place, and apply it to thy present estate. Specially, anent the diligent trial, how thou profits in religion & taking nightly a sharp count, how thou hes employ it the day preceiding. Examin oft & narrowly, if thou haue gotten any dominion over any of thy vnruly affecti­ons; and if thou haue dauntoned or refor­med them in any measure, think well that thou hes obtained a gret victory. In al thy affaires, & interprises whatsoever, either of gret or of smal importance, craue counsell at the mouth of God in thy praiers, what thou suld do; craue his asistance, that it would please his majestie, to direct and teache thee the right way: lere. 10. 23 For the way of man is not in himselfe, neither is it in man to walk and to direct his steps: And what­soever succes or effect thy procedings tak, albeit it bee never so far aganis thy heart, yet hold thee content and thank the Lord [Page 117] it: For he seeth farther nor thou dois, hee knawis that quhilk thou knawis not, and will turne all things about to the best, for them that loues him. Hunt not after worldly things; neither care thou meikill for them: But as the Lord Iesus hes comman­ded, seek first the kingdome of God, Mat. 6. 33. & his righteosnes (which is amendment of life) and then sall these worldly things be suffi­ciently ministred vnto thee. Respect not thine owne commoditie in serving God; neither make thy dependance on him, in hope of a temporall rewarde: But respect cheifly his glory, let thy service tend al­waies to please him, & that in hope of an everlasting recompense. Thinke not that thou art placed by God here vpon earth, to liue at libertie, to enjoy thy plesures, or to make long residence: but only to serue him, looking for nothing in this life, but for affliction, Ioh. 16. 33. & that as a pilgrim & stran­ger thou art to passe away suddenly home to thine own cuntry, there to giue acount to thy Lord and maker, how thou hes be­stowed thy time here vpon earth, & how [Page 118] thou hes obeied his holy wil & comman­dements. If the Lord bestow his temporal benefits on thee, or grant thee any repose & contentment in this life, be thankful to him therefore, & vse his gifts to his glory: Nevertheles, let not thy heart nor affecti­on be fixed vpon earthly things: but let e­uer thy minde be caried vpwarde, let thy chief delight, thy hope, thy rejoycing, feli­citie, & comfort, be in the merciful promi­ses of God, in the merits of Iesus chirst, & in the joyes of the eternal life to cum. Flie sin, as a contagious pest, and in al thy acti­ons, remember weill that the Lord is ever present in spirit, who sees thy deeds, hears thy words, & knawis al thy secret thoghts; His Angels also, whome hee hath giuen charge over thee; Psal. 34. 7 & 91. 11. albeit thou see them not yet they both hear & see thee and thy pro­cedings; before whome thou suld be asha­med to do, Heb. 1. 14. or say any vnseemely thing. Fi­nally, for conclusion of this tretise, besides all the precepts before rehearsed: there is yet a thing wherof I wald admonish thee; quhilk in the mercies of God, I beseech [Page 119] thee to remark, and exactly to cary away: having obtained peace of Conscience, whil thy spirit is yet at rest, take pen & ink, and spedily write vp, for a memoriall, the time & maner of thy trouble, and of thy delive­rance; yea, whether thou can write or not, imprint it deeply in thy heart & memory; and for all the daies of thy life, let it serue thee for these vses. First, so oft as ever thou reades it, or calls it to remembrance, let it serue as a perpetuall lesson, to learne thee to be thankful to thy God. Secondly, let it serue, as a perpetual bridle, to refrain thee from sin, & offending the majestie of god: Certifying thy self that if thou be ingrate, or delight in wickednes, the Lord hes ever the same wand aboue thy head, wherwith he wil scourge thee againe mair viuely, & wil make thy own Conscience a bourior to torment thee. Thirdly, where ever it shall please the Lord to cast thee againe in the like trouble, then collect this document, and comfort: Assure thy selfe, that if thou seek to him with al thy heart & with con­tinuance; as he delivered thee of before, so [Page 120] wil he deliver thee again at al times there­after, vnto the end of thy life: For the mer­cie of God is without repentance. Rom. 11. 29

Now, my deare brother, let not this be thy behaviour, & exercise, for a day, or for a short time onely: but see thou continue therein during all the daies of thy life: In respect, the reprobat & wicked man, sum­time for feare of the Lords judgements, sumtime to be releved of his present paine and trouble, sumtime to get his intention accomplished, or vpon other worldly re­spects, will haue good motions, & wil be­gin a good course: but so soon as the Lord dois avert his plague, so soone as he is ea­sed of his paine, or comes to his intent; so soon returns he to his former impietie, & vpon light occasions falles suddenly and shamefully back. Be thou not therfore like to him, but as a good soldier of the Lord, endure and persevere constantly vnto the end, Mat. 23. 13 that thou may be saved and inherit all things. Reve. 21. 7 Watch, Psa. 94. 13 pray, & meditate the lawe of the Lord, that in the evill day of his visi­tation, thou may get rest, when the pit is [Page 121] digged for the wicked: and that at the glo­rious comming of our Lord Iesus, Mat. 25. 21 thou may be found a good & faithfull servant, 1. Pet 5. 4 & receiue an incorruptible crown of glo­ry in his everlasting kingdom, where thou sal dwell with the Angels, & glorified bo­dies, lauding & praising the almightie fa­ther, the sonne, & the holy ghost for ever. Amen.

CHAP. XIII.
A forme of praise, and praier to be vsed, by them quhilk are deliuered from the vexa­tion of the Spirit and Conscience.

O Loving, gracious, and bountifull Fa­ther! I render al praise vnto thee, for thy manifolde mercies shewed on me thy poore servant; quhilk are more in number nor I am able to recount. Behold, thou hes not taken me away in my sin, but hes spa­red me long, & at last hes given me a sicht of my sins, a liuely sorrow in my heart for the same, a fervent desire to abstaine from doing evil, and to do that quhilk is plesant in thy sight: Blessed be thy name for that hope, & sight of mercy & salvation, quhilk [Page 122] thou hes given me in the death of thy Son Iesus Christ: Praise be vnto thee, in that it hes pleased thee also to haue chastised me with the rodde of thy fatherly correction: For thereby, thou hes tamed, & humbled me, being insolent and vnruly: Thou hes thereby let me know mine own weaknes, & vnworthines, and thy justice & mercie: Thou hes drawn me vnto thee, as it were, by force, & wald not suffer me to persever in wickednes: Thou succoured me when I was led captiue with my owne affections, and was transported with the vanities of the worlde: Thou hes drawne out fervent praiers▪ sighs, & sobs from my heart, and teares from mine eies, for my sin, quhilk I could never haue done of my self, without the motion of thy holy spirite; And thou vouchsafest from time to time, to harken to my praiers, and to graunt my requests. Thou hes brought me from the doore of death, and brink of dispaire, to the quhilk I was neere: Thou hes brought me out of the dark cloud of ignorance and heavines, wherewith I was overshadowed: and didst [Page 123] ministrate wonderfull meanes to comfort me, and to bring me to the knowledge of thy trueth, in the daies of my trouble, and ignorance: Thou hes cast me downe, thou hes raised me vp; thou hes tried me like the silver in the fournace; thou hes eased my paine; thou hes exercised my Conscience; thou hes trained me vp in thy discipline: and hes made me partaker of thy holy Sa­craments institute by thy sonne our Lord Iesus, as sure seales and testimonies of thy loue, & of my adoption & salvation. These benefits, O heavenly Father! and al other good thinges▪ I acknowledge me to haue received, and to receiue daily of thy only goodnes, & bountiful hand: for the quhilk I render vnto thee, that quhilk thou hes al­so giuen me; even my heart, my soule, my affection, and my strength, with al thanks: For lo! they appertaine justly vnto thee, the fountaine of all goodnes, and original of my being: I dedicate my life, & service to thee, and wil vowe my selfe thy servant for ever.

But now, my God, I stil remain in great [Page 124] danger, & distres; and vnles thou preserue me, I am but lost; vnles thou vphold me, I am not able to stand: For so long as I am in this tabernacle, I am but poor, weak, ig­norant, impacient, & imperfit: So long as I am in this vail of misery, I am daily assal­ted within, & without, with manifold ten­tations; with the intisements of the world, with the snares of the diuel, with the inju­ries of men, and raging of mine own con­cupiscence: If thou take thy good gifts frame; I sal stand vp poore, naked, & misera­bil: If thou tak thy spirit & grace from me I sal then doutles fal suddenly, & be a pray to my enemies foresaids. Haue mercie on me therefore (O Lord) for Iesus Christ thy deare sons sake; & let me not be overcum, nor drawen from thee with the trifles, and entisements of the world; by the power & subtiltie of Sathan; by the fellowship, or provocation of men; nor by the vnrulines of my corrupted affections. But as thou hes wrocht that great work of my redemption, by the deth of thine only son, so work likewise, & accomplish the work of my re­generation, [Page 125] by the vertue of thy holy spi­rit. By the mightie operation of the com­forter, make my heart new within me; my stubborne, and polluted heart, pearce it, purge it, mollifie it, enlarge it, frame and fashion it to thy holy wil: Crucifie the old man, quicken the new man; bridle, & mor­tifie my sinful lusts and natural affections, that they be not inordinate nor excessiue; but make them alwaies obedient & subject to my spirit, & my spirit to thy spirit. Let thy word & wil, be a precise rule to al my deeds, my words, my thoughts, my appe­tites, & desires. Let me be daily renewed, comforted, instructed, instrenthened, pre­served, and governed by the spirit of truth, till I come to the ful perfection; and albeit Lord, I cannot be altogither without sin, so long as I am clad with flesh and blood; yet, let not sin raigne, nor haue the vpper, hand in me; but so oft as I fal by sin, als oft raise thou me vp again by repentance: san­ctifie my soul, good Lord, my wit, & me­mory, that I may be alwaies occupied in thy service: purifie, & blesse my body and [Page 126] members, quhilk ar defiled with the works of the flesh, that I may be a meet and well prepared temple of the holy Ghost: Blesse likewise, & prosper, acording to thy good pleasure, mine interprises, proceedings, and works of my hands, that it may go wel with me. Dresse my affaires, and put them in good order: Preserue me alwaies, that I attempt nothing repugnant to thy holy will; let thy will, be my will (my God) And whatsoeuer succes my proceedings take; whatsoever crosse or affliction it sal please thy majestie to lay on me; make me harti­lie wel content therwith. For thou knawis what is good for me. As concerning tem­poral benefits, I craue them onely in such number and measure as seemeth good in thine eies: Giue mee those things quhilk thy wisdome knowes to be most expedi­ent for me: seeing thou knowest whereof I haue need. Alwaies, Lord, let me not lack the thing without the quhilk I canot serue thee: but grant me thy blessing, thy favor, & thy grace, and then I sall haue enough.

Arme me, O heavenly Father! with spi­rituall [Page 127] armour, in this great conflict, and high tentations: Giue me a true, liuely, and justifying faith, whereby, I may stand stedfast in all assaults, & quenche the fiery darts of Sathan: Imprint thy true feare in my heart, and let me be replenished with thy fervent loue: Giue me patience, and long suffering, vnto the end of the battell; humilitie and meeknes, giue me a humble heart, and a lowlie mind, a forgiuing hart, a penitent heart for my sin; a pliable hart, will, and mind, to thy voice, thy word, and thy wil; and a thankful heart for thy bene­fites; Lord, let them never slide out of my mind. Giue me sobernes, temperance, constancie, truth, vprightnes, contentment of mind, peace of Conscience, charitie & loue towards al men for thy sake: That I be not onely a hearer, reader, and vnderstander of thy word; but also, a keeper and practi­ser of thy word and commandements.

These things, I craue of thee, my God, in the name of thy son Iesus christ: For so he hes commanded me to do, promising, that thou wilt graunt my petitions for his [Page 128] sake. But, Lord, my mouth is not able to expresse, my heart to vnderstand, nor my thocht abil to conceiue the hundreth part of those things, whereof I haue neede and ought to do. Heirfore, let the comforter, teach me, & put me in remembrance of al things, loh. 14. 26. as thy dear son hes promised; that both in prosperitie, & adversitie I may be­haue my self as one of thy good soldiers & faithfull servants, to the end of my course and race. Be thou ever my strong rock, my buckler, & my sheild; and then though the world suld turne vpside down; yet sall I be in perpetuall securitie. Be on my side, and neither man, nor the devil salbe able to o­verthrow me. Giue me everlasting life, O Lord! that after this life be ended, I may dwell with thee in thy kingdome, behol­ding thy glorious face, magnifying, and praising thee, thy Lamb Iesus Christ, and the Comforter thy holy Spirit; togither with thy chosen children, & armies of thy bright Angels, for ever, and ever, worlde without end.

Amen.

Finished the 27. of March. 1593.